Study underway: Does smoking pot impair ability to drive?

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It’s a question that’s had police and potheads divided for decades: does marijuana use increase a driver’s risk of being in a car accident?

A first-of-a-kind study at BC hospitals aims to find out if drivers high on marijuana are in more crashes compared to people who are sober behind the wheel.

Researchers will have access to the excess amount of blood doctors draw from drivers who are taken to the hospital after a crash. The study is supposed to be anonymous and not used to pursue charges. But Micheal Vonn with the BC Civil Liberties Association says the data appears to be linked to the accident report:

“In fact, the data linkages… effectively re-identify the subject who has been anonymized through the blood work.”

All BC hospitals are involved in this five-year study. Every driver taken to hospital after a crash will be participating. The study is already underway. It’s led by a Vancouver General Hospital ER doctor. Apparently 100 samples have already been collected.

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