{"id":7679,"date":"2017-08-25T23:38:27","date_gmt":"2017-08-25T23:38:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=2765066"},"modified":"2017-08-25T23:38:27","modified_gmt":"2017-08-25T23:38:27","slug":"efforts-to-curtail-marijuana-impaired-driving-collide-with-evolving-attitudes-medicinal-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/efforts-to-curtail-marijuana-impaired-driving-collide-with-evolving-attitudes-medicinal-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Efforts to curtail marijuana-impaired driving collide with evolving attitudes, medicinal use"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/efforts-to-curtail-marijuana-impaired-driving-collide-with-evolving-attitudes-medicinal-use\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>Promoting cannabis as a safer alternative to alcohol was a tenet of the marijuana legalization movements in Colorado and other states.<\/p>\n<p>Early data indicate that attitude continues when people get behind the wheel.<\/p>\n<p>A recent Colorado Department of Transportation survey found that 72 percent of Colorado cannabis consumers thought it was safer to drive under the influence of marijuana than under the influence of alcohol.<\/p>\n<p>That same survey also found that more than half of the 92 cannabis-using respondents drove within two hours of consuming marijuana. An equal percentage believed they could safely drive under the influence of marijuana.<\/p>\n<p>The Colorado Department of Transportation hopes a nearly $1 million education effort \u2014 a doubling of funding spent last year \u2014 can steer the driving behaviors of Colorado cannabis consumers in a different direction.<\/p>\n<p>The state\u2019s safety officials know they are running up against more than just data. Efforts to stem drugged driving are colliding with cultural convictions, the role of medical marijuana in everyday lives and skepticism surrounding <a href=\"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2017\/08\/25\/marijuana-impairment-testing\/\">unproven detection technologies<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n<h3>Data reveal attitudes<\/h3>\n<p>In the early months of legalization, state officials hoped to get a gauge on motorists\u2019 knowledge of DUI laws and safety concerns as they related to marijuana and driving.<\/p>\n<p>They got an early win: 91 percent of 114 cannabis consumers surveyed in 2014 were aware that a person could receive a DUI for driving after using marijuana recreationally.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut then we thought that people, perhaps, would not drive high,\u201d said Sam Cole, CDOT\u2019s safety communications manager.<\/p>\n<p>That appears to have been wishful thinking.<\/p>\n<p>That same 2014 survey showed 56 percent of cannabis consumers said they drove two hours after consuming cannabis at least once a month. And while that percentage held steady in 2015 and 2016, the frequency of those users driving within hours of consumption increased sharply.<\/p>\n<p>The percentage of marijuana-using consumers who drove 11 days or more in a month after recently consuming cannabis grew from 10 percent in 2014 to 21 percent in 2016, CDOT data show.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related right\" \/>\n<p>While the vast majority of the cannabis-using respondents were aware they could get a DUI for driving high \u2014 up to 93 percent by 2016 \u2014 they appeared skeptical of getting caught. In the 2016 survey, 73 percent of the 95 marijuana-using respondents said it would be somewhat or very unlikely that they would get pulled over by law enforcement for being over the legal limit.<\/p>\n<p>The agency is aware that the data come with caveats, Cole said. The \u201cunder the influence\u201d phrase used in survey questions isn\u2019t defined, leaving the respondent\u00a0to assume the level of influence. Other caveats include the fact that a positive test or the presence of a substance does not necessarily equate to impairment. Also, extended data sets are still being accumulated.<\/p>\n<p>The marijuana-consuming survey respondents also represent a small sample size \u2014 in the realm of 95 to 130 respondents of overall respondents totaling close to 900. When considering the overall percentages, motorists were less favorable of driving high.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, law enforcement agencies are still seeking robust detection technologies for cannabis inebriation \u2014 critical given the fact that cannabinoids can remain present in the body\u2019s system for weeks, Cole said. The development of a roadside test and a handheld personal detection kit would also help improve awareness immensely among cannabis consumers.<\/p>\n<p>Until those technologies and definitions are finalized, however, officials have to act on the existing evidence and data.<\/p>\n<p>The CDOT data show that those drivers surveyed don\u2019t take the dangers of marijuana seriously, said Cole.<\/p>\n<p>Those attitudes are understandable, he added. Drunken-driving prevention campaigns have at least a three-decade head start on the fledgling efforts around cannabis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt should be taken just as seriously as alcohol,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<h3>Medication vs. intoxication<\/h3>\n<p>Marijuana is medicine to more than 91,000 Colorado residents, according to state data.<\/p>\n<p>Those patients are the impetus behind planned lobbying efforts by Colorado NORML, the state\u2019s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, to modify existing marijuana-related driving laws.<\/p>\n<p>Campaigns to raise the blood tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) limit of 5 nanograms and\/or requesting exemptions for medical marijuana patients are positions currently under consideration, said Ashley Weber, the Colorado chapter\u2019s executive director.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe feel there needs to be responsible driving,\u201d she said. \u201cIn some cases, responsible driving for medical patients includes smoking cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a concept Weber can speak to personally.<\/p>\n<p>She was paralyzed in a 2002 car accident while a passenger in a \u201csuicidal, drunk joyride.\u201d In the 15 years since, she has found that cannabis managed her spasms more effectively and with fewer side effects than the slew of narcotics she was prescribed.<\/p>\n<p>Getting her driver\u2019s license is a goal, Weber said. However, if she suffered spasticity while driving, she would need cannabis to stop the tremors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome people don\u2019t understand that (medical patients) need it to drive,\u201d she said, adding that she believes there is a stark difference between alcohol\u2019s and marijuana\u2019s effects on people\u2019s bodies, abilities and minds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve never seen anybody on cannabis act any way, shape or form the way alcohol has on people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Mark Tulk, 47, of Boulder, became a medical marijuana patient after surviving the Amtrak 188 train derailment in May 2015 in Philadelphia. The musician\/producer\u2019s hand was crushed; he still suffers from pain and sleep-depriving nightmares.<\/p>\n<p>Seeking an alternative to pain pills, he found that taking cannabis at night helped him with the pain, stiffness and bad dreams.<\/p>\n<p>He doesn\u2019t drive high after taking his nightly dose, he said. However, if he had to drive in an emergency, he would feel safe doing so.<\/p>\n<p>In general, driving with anything in your system \u2014 prescription opioids to marijuana \u2014 isn\u2019t a good idea, he emphasized.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many people are driving around under the impression that (they\u2019re) safe,\u201d he asked. \u201cMy advice to anyone is: Don\u2019t go driving if you\u2019re not in a state where you\u2019re able to do it safely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Medical marijuana companies are also taking a more active role in understanding their medicines\u2019 effects on patients and helping define impairment, said Dustin Mahon, founder of Endocanna, a firm that develops medical cannabis concentrates.<\/p>\n<p>Government and academic research into medical marijuana\u2019s full effects on patients has been hobbled by marijuana\u2019s status as a Schedule I substance, he said. That leaves private industry and other groups to piece together their own studies on marijuana and driving.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, Endocanna was recently approached by Cannabis Clinicians Colorado, an organization leading an observational study on cannabis and driving, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe problem is, we don\u2019t have a whole lot of research on this,\u201d Mahon said.<\/p>\n<p>Mahon, whose company extracts specific cannabinoids to tailor medical concentrates to treat a variety of ailments, bristled at the mention of Colorado\u2019s 5-nanogram limit.<\/p>\n<p>In Colorado and other states where marijuana can be recommended as medicine \u2014 and where those medicinal products can have various, even nonintoxicating, effects and linger in the bloodstream for weeks \u2014 greater thought and research should be put toward determining levels of impairment, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFive nanograms is kind of picked out of the sky,\u201d he said. \u201cOn (pill) bottles, there are labels that say, don\u2019t operate heavy machinery until you know how this affects you. That should be applied to this medication as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Users reveal attitudes<\/h3>\n<p>With 29 states having legalized medical marijuana and eight of those states going a step further to allow recreational use, THC\u2019s effects on drivers has become an open question extending beyond Colorado\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n<p>Not all cannabis consumers think it\u2019s acceptable to drive high, but a sampling of those who have driven high and were willing to discuss it on the record provides a glimpse at logic behind their internal debate.<\/p>\n<p>Krystel Kaijou, 31, of Montgomery, Ala., hasn\u2019t consumed cannabis in recent years. But when did, she microdosed in the morning to help with symptoms of ADHD, PTSD, and joint pain. She said when she took medical marijuana, she would give herself three to five hours before leaving the house in a car.<\/p>\n<p>Other consumers might not take the same approach, she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith cannabis users, we tend to be a tad bit cockier because there aren\u2019t things quite yet available to gauge just how much THC is in your body,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Ray Bassett, of Rumford, R.I., has \u201cbeen puffing for 48 of his 62 years.\u201d He said he has felt comfortable getting behind the wheel after smoking marijuana.<\/p>\n<p>An individual\u2019s faculties are diminished exponentially by the amount of alcohol they drink versus the amount of pot they smoke, he said.\u00a0\u201cThe fact of the matter is: I know personally what I can do and what I can\u2019t do (after smoking marijuana). I don\u2019t know what I can and can\u2019t do if I drink.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr. David Spilker, 72, of Pebble Beach, Calif., said that during his four decades as an emergency room doctor in California, he saw the aftereffects of plenty of drunken-driving incidents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProfessionally, I never thought (driving under the influence of marijuana) was much of a problem,\u201d he said, adding that he opposes the comparison of marijuana to alcohol. \u201c(They\u2019re) as different as Penicillin is from heroin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In his personal life, Spilker said he thinks he\u2019s a better driver with marijuana.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m generally a pretty impatient guy,\u201d he said. \u201cBut when I\u2019m stoned, I\u2019m more tolerant, I\u2019m more patient. I\u2019m not in that big of a hurry, I don\u2019t speed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said he\u2019s curious to see how the driving laws evolve to adapt to something that is far from black-and-white.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnlike alcohol, everyone is different, the strains have different chemical effects,\u201d he said. \u201cWe know (how alcohol is absorbed in the system), but what is the level of (cannabis) intoxication? And how long does it last?\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Dispelling myths<\/h3>\n<p>Driving-safety advocates have heard those stories \u2013 and then some.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a myth,\u201d CDOT\u2019s Cole said of the idea that driving high is safer than driving drunk.<\/p>\n<p>Reaction times, motor skills, and the general perception of speed, time and distance are all impaired by marijuana use, he said, adding, \u201cOne thing you do not have when you\u2019re impaired by alcohol and marijuana is good judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>CDOT\u2019s efforts to educate cannabis consumers about the dangers of drugged driving represent an unprecedented investment, he said, a sentiment echoed by marijuana policy experts.<\/p>\n<p>Effective public-information campaigns are critical to efforts to end impaired driving, said John Hudak, drug policy expert and senior fellow at Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C.-based public policy organization.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt starts with young people and continues throughout age ranges to ensure they are learning from other vices,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>A key for CDOT\u2019s campaign is its continuing partnerships with the marijuana industry, Cole said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDispensaries are great messengers,\u201d he said. \u201c(Consumers) may not listen to us as closely as they would their budtender.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The agency will also have the full force of the state behind it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the coming year, we will fund CDOT\u2019s impaired-driving education campaigns and pursue additional resources to support our enforcement efforts,\u201d Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Attorney General Cynthia Coffman wrote in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/08\/24\/jeff-sessions-marijuana-colorado-letters\/86614\/\">a letter sent Thursday to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Hickenlooper and Coffman rattled off a slew of data points to illustrate those efforts made since legalization:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>5,000 peace officers trained on marijuana-related laws.<\/li>\n<li>68 percent increase of the number of trained drug recognition experts (now 227).<\/li>\n<li>1,155 trained peace officers in advanced roadside impaired driving enforcement.<\/li>\n<li>$2.3 million appropriated to CDOT\u2019s impaired-driving education campaigns.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cIn the first six months of 2017, the number of drivers the Colorado State Patrol considered impaired by marijuana dropped 21 percent compared to the first six months of 2016,\u201d Hickenlooper and Coffman wrote. \u201cWhile this is an encouraging finding, we will continue our efforts to educate the public on drug-impaired driving and actively police it on our roadways.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Among the pioneers in those efforts to eliminate drunken driving\u00a0was Mothers Against Drunk Driving \u2014 and the group has jumped in on the efforts to end marijuana-impaired driving, too.<\/p>\n<p>MADD\u2019s initial efforts in Colorado included an April campaign in partnership with the State Patrol, Uber and dispensary Native Roots that encouraged marijuana consumers celebrating 4\/20 to use ride-sharing services.<\/p>\n<p>MADD\u2019s leadership is optimistic they can extend their successes curbing drunken driving to marijuana-impaired driving.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe changed the perception with alcohol, that it\u2019s not acceptable and drunk driving is dangerous,\u201d said Fran Lanzer, executive director of the Colorado chapter of MADD. \u201cBut when I look at where we are with marijuana, it\u2019s like what I heard about alcohol in the 1980s. \u2026 The big part of it is that some of the research now couldn\u2019t be done prior to legalization, since it wasn\u2019t legal to possess or even use in the lab.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cole hopes the additional funding could help stamp out the myths that \u201cspread like wildfire\u201d and assist in bolstering efforts to change hearts and minds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think things will only get better,\u201d he said, \u201cand I hope it doesn\u2019t take 20 or 30 years \u2014 the way it has with alcohol.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Denver Post staff writer David Migoya contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<aside> <\/aside>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>Promoting cannabis as a safer alternative to alcohol was a tenet of the marijuana legalization movements in Colorado and other states. Early data indicate that attitude continues when people get behind the wheel. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[52,1986,7285,6811,7286,7043,7087,7279,2097,6813,77,6815,7280,5667,9,5019,6983,7281,1,3,18,61,1736],"tags":[2632,4554,7287,6816,7288,7046,7088,7282,4665,6818,2655,6820,7283,5673,5022,6984,7284,2622],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7679"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7679\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}