Pubdate: Wed, 18 Nov 2015
Source: Metro (Toronto, CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 Metro Canada
Contact:  http://www.metronews.ca/toronto
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3462
Author: Chris Bateman
Page: 6

TAKING A SPIN WITH DRUGGED DRIVERS

Simulator Lets Experts Study Effects of Cannabis

If Justin Trudeau's Liberal government legalizes marijuana in Canada, 
research by drug experts at the Centre for Addiction and Mental 
Health in Toronto may play a role in how it's enforced.

For the last two years, scientists Robert Mann and Gina Stoduto have 
been giving test subjects a joint, putting them behind the wheel of a 
driving simulator and recording what happens under controlled conditions.

"The No. 1 drug found in dead and injured drivers after alcohol is 
cannabis," Mann said. "Teenage drivers in high school are now more 
likely to drive after cannabis use than they are after drinking."

Based on a real Chevrolet Cavalier, the $ 100,000 simulator has a 
realistic ignition and functioning instrument panel. Monitors provide 
a 180-degree view, and the seat vibrates based on the road surface.

"At certain points on the roadway, we programmed it to collect data 
like average speed and how they're staying in the lane," said Stoduto.

Participants in the study were regular recreational marijuana users 
aged 19 to 25. Researchers screened for signs of drug dependency and 
other risk factors.

"The cigarette weighs the same for everybody," said Stoduto.

"We allow them to smoke up to 10 minutes, and they can consume as 
much as they want, so everyone takes a different dose."

The study is double blind, meaning neither the participants nor 
researchers know until after who smoked real marijuana and who 
received a placebo produced by the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Mann and Stoduto are still gathering data, but preliminary results 
suggest marijuana does have a negative effect on drivers.

"The drug does seem to be changing the way people drive," Mann said. 
"It's hard for us to look at the data and say, 'That's a mistake.' We 
can say it's ' different.'

"Give us another six months and we'll tell you what the data tells us."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom