Pubdate: Tue, 29 Aug 2017
Source: Prince George Citizen (CN BC)
Copyright: 2017 Prince George Citizen
Contact:  http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/350
Author: Pamela McColl
Page: 4
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v17/n260/a04.html

EDITOR WRONG ON MARIJUANA RISKS

The editor of this paper made a drastic mistake in playing down the
risks of the use of marijuana and driving in his recent editorial.

Using marijuana and getting behind the wheel of a car increases your
changes of a collision, and of possibly killing yourself, your
passengers or others. Here is the reckless statement made by the
editor of the Prince George Citizen which should be retracted with an
apology.

"As anyone first on the scene of a horrific accident knows, speeding
kills. So does fentanyl and crystal meth and the people willing to
produce and sell it. Pot, on the other hand, just makes people mellow
and snacky."

Now for the facts: There is substantial evidence that recent marijuana
use by a driver doubles their risk of a motor vehicle crash.

When combined with a little amount of alcohol, marijuana drivers are
at eight fold the risk of a crash compared to a normal
drug-alcohol-free driver.

A Canadian national study of fatally injured drivers reported that
between 2000 and 2010 a total of 20,485 drivers died in motor vehicle
crashes. Of the drivers who died within six hours of the crash, 33.7
per cent tested positive for one or more psychoactive drugs during
this period.

Nearly 17 per cent (16.6 per cent) of all tested cases were positive
for cannabis, accounting for almost half (45.4 per cent) of all
drug-positive cases. The BC Coroner reports that one third of all
fatalities in the forestry sector are attributed to cannabis use.

The editor goes on to make some outlandish statements about marijuana
and benefits to health that amount to nothing more than quackery.

It is time the editor took a break and get back to reading the
scientifical literature on marijuana.

Pamela McColl

Vancouver
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MAP posted-by: Matt