Measuring Impairment Is Ineffective, AAA Says. Motorists are being convicted of driving under the influence of marijuana based on arbitrary state standards that have no connection to whether the driver was impaired, says a study by AAA. The problem is growing as more states contemplate legalizing the drug. At least three, and possibly 11 states, will vote this fall on ballot measures to legalize marijuana for medicinal or recreational use, or both. Bills to legalize the drug have been introduced in a halfdozen states. [continues 462 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) - Motorists are being convicted of driving under the influence of marijuana based on arbitrary state standards that have no connection to whether the driver was actually impaired, says a study by the nation's largest auto club. The problem is only growing as more states contemplate legalizing the drug. At least three, and possibly as many as 11 states, will vote this fall on ballot measures to legalize marijuana for medicinal or recreational use, or both. Legislation to legalize the drug has also been introduced in a half dozen states. [continues 719 words]
Study: No Scientific Basis for Laws on Marijuana and Driving WASHINGTON (AP) - Six states that allow marijuana use legal tests to determine driving while impaired by the drug that have no scientific basis, according to a study by the nation's largest automobile club that calls for scrapping those laws. The study commissioned by AAA's safety foundation said it's not possible to set a blood-test threshold for THC, the chemical in marijuana that makes people high, that can reliably determine impairment. Yet the laws in five of the six states automatically presume a driver guilty if that person tests higher than the limit, and not guilty if it's lower. [continues 693 words]
Survey Finds DUI Rate Down but 22 Percent of Drivers on Drugs That Can Affect Safety WASHINGTON (AP) - The number of drivers on the road with alcohol in their systems has declined by nearly one-third since 2007, but there has been a large increase in drivers using marijuana and other illegal drugs, a government report released Friday found. The report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the share of drivers who test positive for alcohol has declined by more than three-quarters since the agency first began conducting roadside surveys in 1973. [continues 541 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) - As states liberalize their marijuana laws, public officials and safety advocates worry that more drivers high on pot will lead to a big increase in traffic deaths. Researchers who have studied the issue, though, are divided on the question. Studies of marijuana's effects show that the drug can slow decision-making, decrease peripheral vision and impede multitasking, all of which are critical driving skills. But unlike with alcohol, drivers high on pot tend to be aware that they are impaired and they try to compensate by driving slowly, avoiding risky actions such as passing other cars, and allowing extra room between vehicles. [continues 746 words]
(AP) As states liberalize their marijuana laws, public officials and safety advocates worry that more drivers high on pot will lead to a big increase in traffic deaths. Researchers, though, are divided on the question. Studies of marijuana's effects show that the drug can slow decision-making, decrease peripheral vision and impede multitasking, all of which are critical driving skills. But unlike with alcohol, drivers high on pot tend to be aware that they are impaired and try to compensate by driving slowly, avoiding risky actions such as passing other cars, and allowing extra room between vehicles. [continues 509 words]
As states liberalize their marijuana laws, public officials and safety advocates worry that more drivers high on pot will lead to a big increase in traffic deaths. Researchers, though, are divided on the question. Studies of marijuana's effects show that the drug can slow decision-making, decrease peripheral vision and impede multitasking, all of which are critical driving skills. But unlike with alcohol, drivers high on pot tend to be aware that they are impaired and try to compensate by driving slowly, avoiding risky actions such as passing other cars, and allowing extra room between vehicles. [continues 446 words]
Studies Inconclusive on 'Speed and Weed' Washington (AP) - As states liberalize their marijuana laws, public officials and safety advocates worry that more drivers high on pot will lead to a big increase in traffic deaths. Researchers, though, are divided on the question. Studies of marijuana's effects show that the drug can slow decision- making, decrease peripheral vision and impede multitasking, all of which are critical driving skills. But unlike with alcohol, drivers high on pot tend to be aware that they are impaired and try to compensate by driving slowly, avoiding risky actions such as passing other cars, and allowing extra room between vehicles. [continues 936 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) - As states liberalize their marijuana laws, public officials and safety advocates worry that more drivers high on pot will lead to a big increase in traffic deaths. Researchers, though, are divided on the question. Studies of marijuana's effects show that the drug can slow decision-making, decrease peripheral vision and impede multitasking, all of which are critical driving skills. But unlike with alcohol, drivers high on pot tend to be aware that they are impaired and try to compensate by driving slowly, avoiding risky actions such as passing other cars, and allowing extra room between vehicles. [continues 956 words]
Safety Officials Worry That Legalized Pot Will Mean More Traffic Deaths. WASHINGTON (AP) - As states liberalize their marijuana laws, public officials and safety advocates worry that more drivers high on pot will lead to a big increase in traffic deaths. Researchers, though, are divided on the question. Studies of marijuana's effects show that the drug can slow decision-making, decrease peripheral vision and impede multi-tasking, all of which are critical driving skills. But unlike with alcohol, drivers high on pot tend to be aware that they are impaired and try to compensate by driving slowly, avoiding such risky actions as passing other cars, and allowing extra room between vehicles. [continues 614 words]
Researchers Divided on Important Question WASHINGTON (AP) - As states liberalize their marijuana laws, public officials and safety advocates worry that more drivers high on pot will lead to a big increase in traffic deaths. Researchers, though, are divided on the question. Studies of marijuana's effects show that the drug can slow decision-making, decrease peripheral vision and impede multitasking, all of which are critical driving skills. But, unlike with alcohol, drivers high on pot tend to be aware that they are impaired and try to compensate by driving slowly, avoiding risky actions, such as passing other cars, and allowing extra room between vehicles. [continues 863 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) - As states liberalize their marijuana laws, public officials and safety advocates worry that more drivers high on marijuana will lead to a big increase in traffic deaths. Researchers, though, are divided on the question. Studies of marijuana's effects show that the drug can slow decision-making, decrease peripheral vision, and impede multitasking, all of which are critical driving skills. But unlike with alcohol, drivers high on marijuana tend to be aware that they are impaired and try to compensate by driving slowly, avoiding risky actions such as passing other cars, and allowing extra room between vehicles. [continues 303 words]
Officials Worry Traffic Deaths Will Increase As Legalization Spreads WASHINGTON (AP) - As states liberalize their marijuana laws, public officials and safety advocates worry that more drivers high on pot will lead to a big increase in traffic deaths. Researchers, though, are divided on the question. Studies of marijuana's effects show that the drug can slow decision-making, decrease peripheral vision and impede multi-tasking, all of which are critical driving skills. But unlike with alcohol, drivers high on pot tend to be aware that they are impaired and try to compensate by driving slowly, avoiding risky actions such as passing other cars, and allowing extra room between vehicles. [continues 315 words]
Television stations in New York, Detroit and Los Angeles are refusing to air ads that link driving sport utility vehicles with supporting terrorism, producers of the ads said yesterday. The two ads were produced for The Detroit Project, a media campaign organized by author and columnist Arianna Huffington and Hollywood movie producer Lawrence Bender, among others. Both ads were modeled on hard-hitting anti-drug public service announcements produced by the Bush administration that equate drug use with support for terrorism. [continues 328 words]
Anti-smoking Advocates Say A Spate Of New Rules Targets Youth While Shielding Retailers The Law The 1996 California law that imposes penalties on minors buying cigarettes: It is a violation for minors to knowingly possess tobacco products... A minor accused of violating this provision shall be charged, prosecuted and sentenced in the District court in the same manner as an adult and the minor's parent or guardian shall be present at all proceedings. SOURCE: American Lung Association WHILE NATIONAL attention has been focused on the tobacco wars raging in courtrooms and in the halls of Congress, a quiet revolution has been taking place in state legislatures and city councils. [continues 1501 words]
