Drug Use (Marijuana) and Driving Impairment

Using marijuana (cannabis or pot) can lead to dangerously impaired driving, according to a three-year study at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia.

Research leader Dr. Katherine Papafotiou of the university’s Brain Science Institute, said those who smoked marijuana were more likely to lane-weave, stop too close to vehicles ahead of them, and make other driving errors.

Most people are aware of the dangers of alcohol-impaired driving but not of the dangers of smoking marijuana before operating a motor vehicle, according to Dr. Papafotiou.

The Institute has now received a grant to examine the effects of methamphetamine and ecstasy use on driving.