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Over 40% of deceased drivers in vehicle crashes test positive for THC: Study

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Re: Over 40% of deceased drivers in vehicle crashes test positive for THC: Study

#61

Post by SecretDreams »

iLoveOncall wrote: post #10
neoCrimeLabs wrote: post #4

I am curious what percentge of the general populous test positive for THC. It would give better context to a dead drivers testing positive for THC.

> It would give better context to a dead drivers testing positive for THC. No it wouldn't. People make those excuses because it's weed, but you would have never posted that on an article about alcohol.

Yes, it would be useful. When controlling for variables, you normally want to compare against a baseline.

If 40% of the whole population has THC in them, we'd need a control population (maybe from earlier when thc was less prominent) to see if per capita deaths has meaningfully increased. I'd do the same study, tangentially, for tech workers to see if productivity has changed when controlling for other variables.

Re: Over 40% of deceased drivers in vehicle crashes test positive for THC: Study

#63

Post by zoklet-enjoyer »

y-c-o-m-b wrote: post #56
epistasis wrote: post #7

Based on the headline, I was guessing it was any amount of positivity, and may be close to the population level, but it's actually impairment levels of THC: > In a review of 246 deceased drivers, 41.9% tested positive for active THC in their blood, with an average level of 30.7 ng/mL — far exceeding most state impairment limits. Since COVID in CA, it feels like driving has become far more dangerous with much more law…

Before this year I had only seen 1 wrong way driver in 30 years. In the last year alone I've seen 6! I saw one person going the wrong direction in a round-about. Another person going over the inner portion of a round-about. People stopping in the road for no reason. It's insane. The strange driving patterns is indeed a major issue. I thought it was maybe a Gen Z thing, but often times these people seem to be between…

Come to Fargo. I see it multiple times a year. Usually right after a new semester starts and the farm kids don't know about one ways haha

Re: Over 40% of deceased drivers in vehicle crashes test positive for THC: Study

#64

Post by zoklet-enjoyer »

DontchaKnowit wrote: post #41
losteric wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, pretty much no one I know drives under any influence regardless what they use. I wonder how many of these people were under the influence of alcohol and other substances.

There is a very common sentiment among weed users that it doesnt really count as far as driving goes. Stoners will be repulsed and outraged by drunk drivers and then think nothing about going for a "blunt ride"

I drove high a few times when I was younger and I had to set my cruise control to 25mph to make sure I was going fast enough haha never again. I just use before bed now or occasionally during the day if I know I won't have to drive anywhere.

Re: Over 40% of deceased drivers in vehicle crashes test positive for THC: Study

#65

Post by delecti »

SilverElfin wrote: post #2

I’m not surprised so many deceased drivers were under the influence of THC. I see people smoking and vaping at stoplights all the time. I am however, surprised this study claims legalization didn’t change the rate. Anecdotally, on the west coast, I’ve seen far more of this, and also people casually smoking in public spaces (parks or train stations or whatever) since legalization.

Are they necessarily smoking and vaping cannabis though? My vape is visually pretty similar to a tobacco vape, and vaping doesn't usually have much odor either way (unless it's scented vape juice, but I'm not terribly worried about cognitive impairment from bubble gum).

Re: Over 40% of deceased drivers in vehicle crashes test positive for THC: Study

#66

Post by shiandow »

ck2 wrote: post #45

I live in a "working poor" neighborhood 50% of the people on this street get stoned before driving to work, every single day dope isn't even legal here and even if it was DUI is wildly illegal We can only cure this if we get serious about penalties because we can't undo murder and injuries How about first time warning, second time weekend in jail, third time week in jail, fourth time month in jail, fifth time year in…

It's interesting. You begin by describing the circumstances and then conclude the problem must be fixed by changing individual behaviour.

Re: Over 40% of deceased drivers in vehicle crashes test positive for THC: Study

#67

Post by xienze »

watwut wrote: post #24
iLoveOncall wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It would give better context to a dead drivers testing positive for THC. No it wouldn't. People make those excuses because it's weed, but you would have never posted that on an article about alcohol.

It absolutely would. If 40% of people test positive for THC, then this would mean there is no effect. I find it unlikely 40% of people test positive for THC, but yes, it does matter.

The article is not saying 40% of all drivers tested positive, it’s stating that 40% of people who died in a car accident tested positive, at pretty high levels too.

Re: Over 40% of deceased drivers in vehicle crashes test positive for THC: Study

#68

Post by quickthrowman »

reactordev wrote: post #29

Just noting there’s a difference between THC in your system and THC in your blood. THC leaves the bloodstream after your high. Goes into fat cells and other areas to be broken down and processed (up to a month) later. Having it in the bloodstream after an accident means they were intoxicated at the time according to science. Whether their CB1 receptors were letting it through is another matter. I can smoke a lot of w…

> I can smoke a lot of weed and not “feel high” yet I would test off the charts on this test.

> With marijuana it’s not. So until we have a valid method of testing if someone is “too stoned to drive” we have to push back on any attempt to classify marijuana users as ineligible to drive.

I agree. As someone who regularly consumes 250mg of edibles daily at a minimum, I’m sure my levels would be off the charts on a constant basis, even when sober. With the tolerance I currently have, it’d take a ridiculous amount to put me into a state where I felt driving wasn’t safe.

Re: Over 40% of deceased drivers in vehicle crashes test positive for THC: Study

#69

Post by wredcoll »

dragonwriter wrote: post #58
ck2 wrote: post #45

I live in a "working poor" neighborhood 50% of the people on this street get stoned before driving to work, every single day dope isn't even legal here and even if it was DUI is wildly illegal We can only cure this if we get serious about penalties because we can't undo murder and injuries How about first time warning, second time weekend in jail, third time week in jail, fourth time month in jail, fifth time year in…

> We can only cure this if we get serious about penalties Saying that in the country with world-leading mass incarceration mostly due to its decades long “war on drugs” which has very much not cured drug problems is a perfect example of putting ideological preconceptions ahead of reality.

> Saying that in the country with world-leading mass incarceration mostly due to its decades long “war on drugs” which has very much not cured drug problems is a perfect example of putting ideological preconceptions ahead of reality.

I wish I could emphasize this even more.

There are some situations where certain types of punishments in certain situations will achieve societal behavior change.

There's a lot more where it doesn't and people absolutely to apply any kind of scientific thought to it.

Re: Over 40% of deceased drivers in vehicle crashes test positive for THC: Study

#70

Post by Arainach »

xienze wrote: post #52
reactordev wrote: post #29

Just noting there’s a difference between THC in your system and THC in your blood. THC leaves the bloodstream after your high. Goes into fat cells and other areas to be broken down and processed (up to a month) later. Having it in the bloodstream after an accident means they were intoxicated at the time according to science. Whether their CB1 receptors were letting it through is another matter. I can smoke a lot of w…

> So until we have a valid method of testing if someone is “too stoned to drive” we have to push back on any attempt to classify marijuana users as ineligible to drive. You’re not really going to win anybody over to the legalization side when you basically say that people can consume as much THC as they want and drive without any penalties because of testing limitations.

On the contrary: we should test for the actual issue (impairment) rather than an arbitrary number.
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