Pubdate: Sun, 03 Nov 2013
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2013 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Bob Hagedorn
Note: Former state Sen. Bob Hagedorn served 16 years in the 
legislature (1993-2008). He sponsored legislation creating the 
Persistent Drunk Driving Act in 1999, major provisions of which have 
been adopted by 38 states.

MIXING BOOZE AND POT IS A REAL THREAT, BUT GOVERNMENT SHOULDN'T OVERHYPE IT

This week, voters will be deciding the fate of proposed tax increases 
by the state of Colorado and by the cities of Denver, Boulder and 
Littleton on the sales of recreational marijuana.

The purposes of the taxes are to cover expenses for licensing, 
regulation, enforcement of rules and laws, the prevention of 
diversion of legal marijuana to those under 21, and costs for 
educating people on health and public safety impacts of marijuana 
use. Of particular concern regarding public safety is expanding 
public awareness of the level of increased impairment caused from 
using marijuana and alcohol at the same time.

Any substance that alters the mind and is foreign to the human body 
is going to affect our health. Marijuana, of course, is no exception. 
However, to what extent we don't really know because of the lack of 
long-term research on the effects. (There is very little U.S.-based 
medical and scientific research on marijuana, but quite a bit has 
been done in other countries.)

During the debates on Amendment 64, the consideration of enacting 
enabling legislation, and on rule-making for the legal sale of 
marijuana, we have heard the argument time and again that marijuana 
is a "gateway" drug. Actually, if one wants to identify a substance 
as a gateway drug, then place the label on either nicotine or alcohol, or both.

However, during more than seven decades of "reefer madness" nonsense 
sponsored by the government, Americans have been essentially told the 
use of marijuana will make you crazy and lead one to an untimely 
death from a heroin overdose.

Colorado has 1.6 million baby boomers who grew up hearing this, many 
of whom tried marijuana, and neither they nor their friends ended up 
as heroin addicts. But what they and succeeding generations have come 
away with is not believing government claims about the dangers of marijuana.

There is a growing attitude among younger people, in particular, that 
marijuana is a "safe" drug. "Safer" is probably more apt when 
compared to drugs that are still illegal in Colorado, as well as the 
most popular legal drug, alcohol.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 
a drunken driver is 11 times more likely to be involved in a fatal 
auto accident compared to a sober driver, while a stoned driver is 
twice as likely, compared to a non-impaired driver, according to a 
February 2012 article in the British Medical Journal. Research also 
indicates that drivers who are high from using marijuana, and only 
marijuana, have an ability to compensate for their altered state, 
usually by driving more slowly.

Studies also indicate that the effects of THC, the psychoactive 
substance in marijuana, will wear off somewhere between 90 minutes 
and three hours after last consumption.

However, the real danger from driving stoned comes when a person uses 
marijuana and also drinks. Combining THC and alcohol is a dangerous 
mix that increases impairment, and can pose challenges in the 
prosecution for such impairment, according to a 2009 article in the 
American Journal on Addiction.

While THC can compound the effects of illegal drugs and prescription 
painkillers, among other drugs, mixing it with alcohol is 
particularly worrisome because alcohol is legal and widely consumed, 
with most people unfamiliar with any serious consequences when both 
are consumed, even in moderation. (Of course, people have different 
ideas of just what "moderation" may be.)

The pharmacodynamic profiles of alcohol and THC are not the same. 
This means they act very differently on the brain. When combined, the 
impairing effects are synergistic, the whole being greater than the 
sum of the parts. We cannot apply the "alcohol model" of impairment 
and expect it to address the potential "driving-stoned" problem. An 
individual's tolerance and ability to compensate for the effects of 
alcohol and cannabis are vastly different.

The American Journal on Addictions article explicitly warns that 
"combining marijuana and alcohol ... results in impairment even at 
doses which would be insignificant were they of either drug alone" 
and that "the risk from driving under the influence of both alcohol 
and cannabis is greater than the risk of driving under the influence 
of either alone."

In other words, people can be dangerously impaired if they drive 
after using both marijuana and alcohol, and possibly be under the 
established limits for both THC and alcohol impairment.

How serious of a problem might this become? Let's play around with 
the numbers of people who are projected to be using marijuana 
recreationally in Colorado during 2014. The Colorado State University 
Futures Center has projected that 642,772 Coloradans will consume an 
average of 3.53 ounces of marijuana during 2014. It is generally 
accepted that an ounce of marijuana will yield 30 joints. So, if 
642,772 Coloradans each roll 30 joints from their 3.53 ounces of 
marijuana, producing 105 joints, we can expect about 67.5 million 
joints to be rolled and smoked in 2014. And, assuming each time a 
person smokes a joint, he or she will get stoned, we'll also have 
approximately 67.5 million instances of people getting high during 2014.

However, this projection of 67.5 million "highs" is possibly somewhat 
inaccurate. A joint is an inefficient THC delivery system; and with 
higher levels of THC in today's product, one might need not smoke an 
entire joint, or its equivalent through alternative delivery methods, 
to get stoned. Such alternatives include pipes, bongs, vaporizers of 
all kinds, including "e-joints" for vaporizing special extractions, 
and a wide range of edibles. It is probable that one joint will 
actually equate to more than one "high."

With, at a minimum, 67.5 million instances of Coloradans and visitors 
getting stoned in 2014, how many of them will get into a vehicle and 
drive? Will people smoke before driving to movies or concerts? Will 
they wait to find an appropriate place upon arrival at the venue 
(keeping in mind that it's illegal to smoke marijuana in public, 
although consuming an edible would be quite discreet)? Or, will they 
use a designated driver?

It would be naive to assume that we don't already have people driving 
our streets under the influence of THC and that the numbers haven't 
increased since the boom in the availability of medicinal marijuana 
since 2009. While it's difficult to quantify the exact numbers, the 
projections provided by the Futures Center gives us a "guesstimate" 
of what we may be facing.

Stoned driving is obviously one of the real dangers that Colorado and 
Denver need to educate people about.

In Colorado, we are at the domestic and international forefront of 
legal access to marijuana. We have the opportunity to be the world 
model for intelligent and progressive thinking regarding the use of 
legal marijuana, especially regarding driving stoned. We have the 
opportunity to address this potentially serious issue calmly and 
headon. But for efforts to be effective, credible and realistic, they 
must be based on evidence and real science. Using scare tactics will 
serve no purpose beyond hindering sensible and wise thought.

The challenge is whether or not government in Colorado is capable of 
doing effective messaging, or if it will it be just more "reefer 
madness" nonsense.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom