A DRUG expert from the North-East
has warned that widespread
cannabis use is putting the safety of
every motorist at increased risk.
Professor Heather Ashton, retired
professor of psychopharmacology at
Newcastle University, said the greatest
threat to society as a whole was
people driving under the influence of
the drug.
Prof Ashton welcomed Wednesday's
decision by Home Secretary
Jacqui Smith to defy the advice of
the Advisory Council on the Misuse
of Drugs (ACMD), and move
cannabis use back to a Class B drug
from Class C.
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But she urged that the issue of driving
while high on cannabis needed
to be taken far more seriously.
Recently, Durham Police revealed
that more than half of fatal accidents
in the county involved drivers
who had taken drugs.
Studies by the Transport Research
Laboratory revealed that six times as
many people are killed in road accidents
with traces of illegal substances
in their bodies compared to
a decade ago. While drink driving is
now a taboo, Prof Ashton said too
many regular cannabis smokers are
willing to get into the driver's seat
after smoking a joint.
"While we now know that
cannabis use can cause mental
health problems if you take it when
you are young, one thing nobody
seems to talk about is the threat
posed to society as a whole by people
who drive while they are still high,"
said Prof Ashton, an expert on the affects
of drugs on the human body.
Cannabis users needed to be aware
that driving while under the influence
of the drug was very dangerous
as well as being illegal, she added.
"In recent weeks, nobody has mentioned
the quite devastating effect
that smoking a joint has on driving,"
said Prof Ashton.
The drugs expert, who gave evidence
to the ACMD when the issue of
reclassification last came up four
years ago, said cannabis impairs
judgement and hand-to-eye co-ordination
and interferes with the ability
to react to complex situations.
"It is also well documented that
using cannabis distorts time. One
cannabis user told me that you can
see the red light, but you can't judge
the time it takes to get there," she
said.
Prof Ashton, who wrote a report
for the RAF on the dangers of mixing
cannabis with sleeping tablets,
said: "The message is that cannabis
use not only affects individuals, it
puts the whole public at risk."
What are your views on the classification of cannabis?
Posted by: Dr John Watson, Baker Street on 9:31am Sat 10 May 08
Prof Ashton surely must be aware of the Transport Research Laboratory's (TRL) research into cannabis and driving, which found "reaction times to motorway hazards were not significantly affected". You can read about it on the BBC website here:
http://news.bbc.co.u
k/1/hi/health/106862
5.stm
Prof Ashton surely must be aware of the Transport Research Laboratory's (TRL) research into cannabis and driving, which found "reaction times to motorway hazards were not significantly affected". You can read about it on the BBC website here:
Posted by: Richard James, S.Devon, UK on 8:02pm Sat 10 May 08
The effects on driving are directly connected to tolerance. I have never had an accident but would bet if I ever do it's when I'm straight not stoned. Either way, there is no debate about drink driving; it's plainly a stupid thing to do, but there IS a real debate about cannabis because it's not easy to show that driving is impared at all. In fact some studies show cannabis intoxication can improve driving skills in regular cannabis smokers. This helps to put into perspective the accute intoxication of drinking and the comparatively mellow effects of smoking cannabis.
Also note that the more alcohol you drink the more confident you become; this makes people think they can take on the world! Fights often happen because intoxicated drinkers think they are something they are not. This in the case of driving is very dangerous. Conversly, smoking cannabis does not make you more cocky or confident about your ability; it more likely makes you question it more, in extreme cases somebody may become paranoid about their ability when in fact they would have been perfectly able.
Weed isn't going to make you start a fight, become loud and rowdy, have sex with somebody you later regret, smash a few windows or set fire to a few bins on your way home from a 'session' - alcohol does this to countless people every weekend but everybody seams to think thats normal?! This is true 'drug fuelled crime'.
If you had pubs at one end of town and hash cafes at the other; where would the riot vans be? In fact I'd go futher, put legal opium dens in towns; they aren't going to attract riot vans either!
The prohibition of cannabis is not based on facts or figures, if it was then alcohol would be a class A drug. If we are trying to create a society based on reason and logic then we need to rip up the 1971 Misuse Of Drugs act and decriminalise all drugs, this way we control the situation instead of big time criminals. See the history of Alcohol prohibition for a further evidence of why.
"mixing cannabis with sleeping tablets" - If this is right; I'd not heard of it before, my dealer doesn't include a leaflet on safe useage, nor did I know what strength it was before I smoked it. It would be nice if a warning like that was written on the packaging, I'd much rather buy cannabis from an off-licence and I'd be very happy to pay tax.
One last thing, has anyone heard of khat? The UK is about the only country in the world where khat is legal. Anyone been burgled for khat money or attacked by somebody intoxicated on khat recently? The government actually did the right thing and aknowledged that they would be creating a criminal problem by criminalising this plant so decided not to.
The hypocracy must end, legalise all these substances and lets concentrate on the social issues that lead to dependancy of any kind; be it gambling or alcohol or heroin. As for driving; lets do some real studies and base our laws around them.
The effects on driving are directly connected to tolerance. I have never had an accident but would bet if I ever do it's when I'm straight not stoned. Either way, there is no debate about drink driving; it's plainly a stupid thing to do, but there IS a real debate about cannabis because it's not easy to show that driving is impared at all. In fact some studies show cannabis intoxication can improve driving skills in regular cannabis smokers. This helps to put into perspective the accute intoxication of drinking and the comparatively mellow effects of smoking cannabis.
Also note that the more alcohol you drink the more confident you become; this makes people think they can take on the world! Fights often happen because intoxicated drinkers think they are something they are not. This in the case of driving is very dangerous. Conversly, smoking cannabis does not make you more cocky or confident about your ability; it more likely makes you question it more, in extreme cases somebody may become paranoid about their ability when in fact they would have been perfectly able.
Weed isn't going to make you start a fight, become loud and rowdy, have sex with somebody you later regret, smash a few windows or set fire to a few bins on your way home from a 'session' - alcohol does this to countless people every weekend but everybody seams to think thats normal?! This is true 'drug fuelled crime'.
If you had pubs at one end of town and hash cafes at the other; where would the riot vans be? In fact I'd go futher, put legal opium dens in towns; they aren't going to attract riot vans either!
The prohibition of cannabis is not based on facts or figures, if it was then alcohol would be a class A drug. If we are trying to create a society based on reason and logic then we need to rip up the 1971 Misuse Of Drugs act and decriminalise all drugs, this way we control the situation instead of big time criminals. See the history of Alcohol prohibition for a further evidence of why.
"mixing cannabis with sleeping tablets" - If this is right; I'd not heard of it before, my dealer doesn't include a leaflet on safe useage, nor did I know what strength it was before I smoked it. It would be nice if a warning like that was written on the packaging, I'd much rather buy cannabis from an off-licence and I'd be very happy to pay tax.
One last thing, has anyone heard of khat? The UK is about the only country in the world where khat is legal. Anyone been burgled for khat money or attacked by somebody intoxicated on khat recently? The government actually did the right thing and aknowledged that they would be creating a criminal problem by criminalising this plant so decided not to.
The hypocracy must end, legalise all these substances and lets concentrate on the social issues that lead to dependancy of any kind; be it gambling or alcohol or heroin. As for driving; lets do some real studies and base our laws around them.
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