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16% of nocturnal drivers are stoned?

Article from LA Times

The most recent assessment by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, based on random roadside checks, found that 16.3% of all drivers nationwide at night were on various legal and illegal impairing drugs, half them high on marijuana.

Also

In California alone, nearly 1,000 deaths and injuries each year are blamed directly on drugged drivers, according to CHP data, and law enforcement puts much of the blame on the rapid growth of medical marijuana use in the last decade. Fatalities in crashes where drugs were the primary cause and alcohol was not involved jumped 55% over the 10 years ending in 2009.

Not an "atheist" topic per se, although many atheists are interested in this topic. My personal view is that recreational marijuana should be legal, get the "doctors" out of it completely, since it's not a pharmaceutical. Let the herbalists and naturopaths Rx if if they like, since marijuana by definition is an herb, but better, have it in the same category as ethanol.

Still, with stoned drivers, drunk drivers, and drivers on cell phones killing thousands, maybe we all better vote for light rail and better bus lines. Damn!

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Peggy Wilson on July 3, 2011 at 12:03pm

Personally I'd feel safer riding with a stoner than with a texter..

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Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on July 3, 2011 at 1:13pm

Statistically some of them will be stoned texters. Fortunately, it's easy to get pre-arranged funerals is one is so inclined.

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Permalink Reply by Jennie Devlin on July 3, 2011 at 3:45pm

lol for sure :)

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Permalink Reply by Prog Rock Girl on July 4, 2011 at 10:54am

True, and studies have shown that stoned driving is still less impaired than drunk driving. Still, people should sober up either way.

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Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on July 4, 2011 at 10:58am

Im voting for expansion of light rail. I hope the train conductors aren't stoned too.

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Permalink Reply by Christopher Baughman on July 3, 2011 at 4:56pm

Wow, so a little over 1 in 8 drivers at night are stoned. I'm surprised more people aren't caught by law enforcement then.

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer W on July 4, 2011 at 1:56am

1 in 8 of law enforcement are probably too stoned to catch them, or at Dunkin Donuts.

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Permalink Reply by FreeThinker on July 4, 2011 at 9:46am

Well, just because a person has been smoking doesn't necessarily mean they are impaired to the point at which it would be noticable in their driving. It's just like with alcohol. There are lots of people who are legally drunk, but not so drunk that they are swerving or otherwise driving erratically.