79-08-B1

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Marijuana

Transcript Marijuana smoking has been decriminalized in 11 states and enforcement of anti- marijuana laws in the other 39 is lax or nonexistent. This has probably contributed to the widespread belief among young people that pot, grass or weed, as marijuana is called by its users, is really a harmless, mild intoxicant. Surveys indicate that one out of nine high school seniors are daily pot smokers. When those seniors entered high school four years ago the rate among seniors was only one out of 20 or so. Of course, the percentage of high school students who smoke marijuana less frequently than every day is far greater. Now the National Institute of Drug Abuse has sounded a warning which has received far too little attention from the press. The pot smoker who drives a car is a threat to himself or herself and to everyone else on the road. And the Institute says 60 to 80 percent of the marijuana smokers they've questioned admit to driving while high on pot. I myself have had young people tell me they are actually better drivers when they've been smoking marijuana. They are living in a dream world and that's not just a figure of speech. They think they are driving better but actual research has discovered their vision, memory span, attention, skill and tracking ability are all impaired. They imagine they are holding a steady course in the proper lane when in truth they are weaving from one lane to another. A professor of psychiatry at the University of British Columbia conducted actual driving tests with 64 individuals, all of whom had experience in smoking marijuana. A third were asked to smoke one joint, a third smoked two joints and the rest smoked a harmless fake. They were all put in cars with dual controls and an observer in each car and asked to drive a closed course. Those who had smoked a single joint showed a one-third decline in driving skills. Those who had smoked twice as much had a 55 percent decline. Then they drove a 16-mile route through heavy traffic in the downtown area -- again with someone ready on the dual controls. They were rated on the basis of taking the examination for a driver's license. Here the low dose group had a 42 percent decline in skill; the higher dosage group had a 63 percent decline. The observers noted a failure to see signals, stoplights, and so forth, and an unawareness of pedestrians and stationary vehicles. Significant also was the fact that several hours after smoking pot, when the subjects no longer had a feeling of being high, their driving skills were still impaired and there was a lingering effect as much as 24 hours later. READER'S DIGEST in the May issue did an article on these tests and others and concluded with the warning that state should enact laws to deal with marijuana intoxicated drivers. At present only two states, Alaska and Minnesota, have such laws. The article also recommended an educational campaign including brochures to be distributed at gas stations, spot ads on radio and so forth, pointing out that it's "dangerous to be stoned". The author of the article, Peggy Mann, tells of a driving instructor who gave a marijuana joint to a student driver to "relax". The California Department of Justice has made a study of Highway Patrol arrests and found a vast increase in the number of traffic violators who are intoxicated by marijuana. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening.		Details Batch Number 79-08-B1 Production Date 05/29/1979 Book/Page RPtV-450 Audio Youtube? No
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