Pubdate: Sat, 29 Mar 2014
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 2014 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.utsandiego.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/386
Note: Seldom prints LTEs from outside it's circulation area.
Authors: Jim Crittenden, Jeni Mendel
Note: Crittenden is a project specialist with the San Diego County 
Office of Education and Mendel represents the District 2 Alcohol and 
Drug Advisory Board. Both are members of the San Diego County 
Marijuana Prevention Initiative Key Leadership Team.

IS EUPHORIA OF RECREATIONAL POT CLOUDING OUR COMMON SENSE?

The euphoria surrounding legalizing pot for recreational use is 
clouding common sense when it comes to driving. Pot remains the drug 
of choice for teenagers and research shows that youth are extremely 
vulnerable to marijuana's ill effects. Young drivers who smoke pot 
are at particularly high risk for being involved in a vehicle crash, 
not only due to overall driver inexperience, but also to the 
increasing availability of pot products with high levels of THC 
(tetrahydrocannabinol).

In a recent study of 23,500 drivers from six different states 
including California, drugged driving accounted for more than 28 
percent of traffic deaths in 2010, up from more than 16 percent in 
1999. Marijuana was the primary drug involved in the increase. It is 
important to note that five out of the six states surveyed have 
medical marijuana policies in place.

In a recent National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, youth 
ages 16 and younger who reported using multiple substances including 
alcohol, tobacco and marijuana were associated with higher rates of 
substance use dependence as an adult. Early users of all three 
substances were more than twice as likely to meet the criteria for 
marijuana dependence. Past 30-day use of marijuana by teens 12 to 17 
is highest in medical-marijuana states, according to the Substance 
Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration State Estimates from 2009-2010.

In Washington state, drivers testing positive for marijuana increased 
significantly since legalization took place in January 2013. Within 
the first six months, 745 drivers stopped by police tested positive 
for THC in their blood. In prior years, 1,000 drivers tested positive 
for THC on an annual basis according to the Washington State Patrol.

Also affecting health and safety that no one talks about is the 
ever-increasing potency of today's genetically modified pot, which, 
by conservative estimates, is nearly five times stronger than it was 
30 years ago, according to the University of Mississippi Potency 
Monitoring Project, 2009.

Steps need to be taken now to ensure our youth are educated regarding 
the hazardous effects of driving "high," such as adding or enhancing 
drugged driving language to prevention campaigns and school based 
driving programs, as well as increased resources for law enforcement 
including effective drug detection equipment

Intoxication poses a threat whether it is THC or alcohol, by allowing 
yet another mind altering substance to enter our roadways legally, 
and using the term "recreational" sends a dangerous message to our 
youth that the risks are minimal, perhaps even insignificant. There 
have been hard lessons learned over the decades from the thousands of 
alcohol related crashes on our roadways that should serve as a 
warning that perhaps one legal intoxicant is enough!
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom