Originally posted by Avalonian
Wow, talk about an uninformed, gross generalization. Have you ever used on a regular basis?
The stereotype of the average pot smoker being a pimple-faced teenager, giggling uncontrollably while stuffing their face with deep-fried potato products is, while not unheard of, just that: a stereotype.
I looked up cites about the effects of driving high, but the results are so mixed, and all obviously biased one way or the other, that I won’t bother posting any that I found.
All I can speak out of, therefore, is personal experience. In my “experimental phase”, I drove under conditions that now I cringe when I think about. I fully admit that the fact that I never killed or hurt anyone (or even had a minor accident for that matter) to be nothing short of miraculous. However, of all the conditions I ever drove under, driving under the influence of marijuana was the only one that I did not feel imparied under.
Of course I was impaired, I was under the influence of a controlled substance. I do not argue that my level of impairment was any better or worse than any other substance (that is another argument altogether), but that of them all, it was the only drug whose influence was not necessarily harmful.
Occasional use of marijuana will impair you beyond the ability to drive, or in fact function at all, and I believe that many of the studies presented that show obvious impairment use test subjects that are not regular users. For the purpose of this discussion, I refer to those that use regularly or heavily.
If you’ve ever smoked pot, you understand the unique sensation of being able focus more intently than otherwise possible. One does get a sort of tunnel experience (not vision, just a concentrated focus, to the point that other outside cues do not exist), enabling the user to focus more clearly on one object or event than normally possible.
When it comes to driving, being able to tune out things other than the act of driving can be harmful, as it could mean blocking out sirens or events taking place on the periphery of vision (not to mention the proven delay in reaction time attributed to the influence). However, these negative aspects are comparable to driving while talking on the cell phone, or changing radio stations, or dropping a lit cigarette, etc.
Unlike those examples though, there is the benefit of being so focused on your driving. I cannot effectively explain the effect, particularly to one that has never experienced it before, but while focused on the act of driving, you do actually drive better because you are so centered on the act, in all of its aspects. You read traffic patterns better, time lights better, understand the ebb and flow of pedestrian traffic better, anticipate other drivers actions better, and so on and so forth.
Now, with all of that said, (and assuming anyone is still reading), I in no way advocate driving under the influence–of any drug, legal or not. But if, hypothetically, I were forced to make the decision of who was going to drive me and my child home, between people under various influences, I’d pick the stoner anyday.