Pubdate: Thu, 02 May 2013 Source: Columbus Dispatch (OH) Copyright: 2013 The Columbus Dispatch Contact: http://www.dispatch.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/93 Author: P.W. Leithart Page: 18 STONED DRIVERS AS DANGEROUS AS DRUNK ONES The Bloomberg News article "Some teen drivers say pot 'helps' " in the Friday Dispatch, suggesting pot use improves driving skills, is no surprise. Ask pot users and they'll say that everything is better when they are high. Ask the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and it will agree. The problem is that users are not competent to judge their driving skills. Do not expect intoxicated people to be aware of their impairments. Scientific studies have shown that pot users are 41 percent impaired after one joint and 63 percent impaired after two. There have been many studies of pot use and driving; the evidence shows that even hours after the high wears off, the user still is impaired. This involves motor skills, visual perception, attention, ignoring signals, etc Alcohol and pot use end up in tragic accidents, as happened only a few days ago in Columbus. Too many things are settled by public opinion. Let's look at the facts. P.W. LEITHART Columbus - --- MAP posted-by: Matt