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. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom