Toking and Driving -- Who's the Real Dope?

Pot smokers are a risk on the roads

By Alan Sidorov

All contents copyright ©, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc., 2003 onwards, unless specified otherwise. All rights reserved.

IMPORTANT: click here to read the DISCLAIMER

I received a letter earlier this year from an old friend, an Englishman who was skipper of a motor torpedo boat after the Second World War. At that time, he and his contemporaries smoked marijuana quite regularly, which if nothing else proves how little is new.

He writes: "A group of us with local girls used to meet on Friday nights to smoke some pot and listen to what we thought of as magnificent music. One Friday I was called out on an emergency and did not get there until late.

"When I walked into the room I was confronted by a group of gals and guys sitting around with stupid looks on their grinning faces listening to atrocious music on a worn out, wind up, scratchy record player. I left and did not return nor did I touch weed for about 30 years and then only once, with similar results."

This is not meant to be a diatribe against marijuana. I've tried it, and unlike former President Bill Clinton I inhaled, but had no desire to do so again. It has not been a part of my life for the simple reason that, in my teens, I was living in a pup tent near Snetterton race track in England, fighting my way into the racing business.

I don't know of a single professional racing driver of note who smokes pot. Even here in Whistler, where according to some we are all permanently stoned, the stuff is no more prevalent than it would be in Winnipeg, perhaps less so. Most good athletes know better than to blunt their faculties.

If nothing else, based on how many stand-up comics joke about smoking pot, there is a lot of it around. I know lawyers, realtors, doctors and many others who use the stuff, at least on occasion. It doesn't seem to hurt them, though someone high on marijuana is not very interesting company for those who are sober. That, plus the resultant munchies can clean out a fridge in short order. How people live is their own business, as long as it has no negative effect on others. Pot, like booze or any other intoxicant, should not be used while operating a motor vehicle. A few years ago, I was driving with a friend on a logging road. He pulled out a joint and had a couple of puffs. Noting my expression he said, "It makes me drive better." A few minutes later, after our progress had become distinctly erratic, he turned to me and sheepishly said, "It only makes me think I drive better."

There are a bunch of ways to be impaired behind the wheel, from fatigue to medication. I don't have a major problem with the legalization of marijuana, barring legitimate medical evidence of its danger. This could curb a lot of illegal activity as well as providing another taxable product, which seems to be the drug governments crave the most. It has been done well, and safely, in parts of Europe.

What we need, though, and quickly, is a roadside test for drug use. Just as drinking and driving used to be a subject for jokes, people who smoke pot and drive don't seem to realize what a risk they are taking.

On the plus side, unlike many drunks or users of other drugs, they probably won't be belligerent with the hospital staff.

____________________________________

This article appears on the DSA website as a result of Alan Sidorov's welcome suggestion, and because of the importance of the subject. It also appears by courtesy of the Winnipeg Free Press, where it was originally published on May 14, 2004.

Alan Sidorov is an experienced automotive racer, product tester and freelance journalist.