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Show The perils of the drunken driver are well known to law-enforcement law-enforcement officials and the public alike. A massive public-education drive has alerted people to the risks' they incur when they drive under the influence of alcohol, and many states have inexpensive inex-pensive and legal roadside tests for establishing alcoholic al-coholic intoxication. Drunk drivers frequently find their driving privileges revoked. YET COMPARABLE legal provisions to protect the public from drivers stoned on marijuana are in most states not in place there are no cheap roadside tests to determine deter-mine drug intoxication, and most pot smokers perceive their use of the drug as "relaxing," never dangerous. They are wrong. The May Reader's Digest reports, "Persuasive evidence is mounting that such drivers (high on marijuana) often have a distorted sense of space and time, altered peripheral and central vision, and impaired manipulative and coordination skills." IN THE article, written by Peggy Mann, there are "remarkably consistent" research findings that indicate in-dicate marijuana smokers are "over-represented in fatal highway accidents." In several studies in Boston, Albuquerque, Baltimore and Oklahoma City about 16 percent of drivers involved in accidents had been smoking marijuana prior to the event. The first large-scale study linking marijuana to traffic arrests was completed by California's Department Depart-ment of Justice last year and revealed that of 1792 arrested drivers 16 percent had a suf ficiently high level of THC, the chief mind-alerting ingredients of marijuana, to constitute marijuana intoxication. in-toxication. INCREDIBLY, in one study, 25 percent of the pot smokers believed pot actually improved their coordination, while an equal number .believed it had no effect on their driving. An effective roadside test for marijuana intoxication is being prepared, but it is probably three or four years away from being ready. IN THE meantime, there is action that can be taken to protect others from the menace of the pot-head driver. "First," Mann, writes, "state legislatures should immediately pass laws imposing a, high fine andor other stiff penalty for possession posses-sion of marijuana in a vehicle including taxis, buses, trucks, trains and planes." Only Alaska and Minnesota have enacted such legislation, and most states are lax in enforcing en-forcing marijuana-possession laws. SECONDLY, THE public must learn how dangerous driving "high" is. Mann calls for a massive educational program sponsored by governmental agencies, insurance in-surance companies, foundations, founda-tions, private groups and; high-school and private-driv.t. ing instructors. 1 ! Robert Willette of the National Na-tional Institute on Drug Abuse is working on the development develop-ment of THC detection kits. Says he: "We can only hope that growing awareness of the problem will prevent a national na-tional disaster.". |