The Truth About Driving Stoned

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Someone I know tried to cut down the boredom of daylong drives up and down I95 with roaches in his car – the smokeable kind. Not that the drives became any shorter, they just appeared longer. With the relaxed marijuana laws in Washington state and Colorado comes a fresh look at how to handle dopers behind the wheel. Dopes behind the wheel are easy to gauge, dopers not so much.

Says Edmunds.com Editor Carroll Lachnit (I guess that comes from “laugh not”):

“Marijuana and alcohol affect users very differently, so it doesn’t always make sense to simply lump a marijuana DUI with an alcohol DUI,” “Everyone knows that driving under the influence of marijuana is dangerous, but there’s never been a national standard in place to identify someone who’s ‘legally stoned’ the way we can identify someone who’s ‘legally drunk.’”


The NHTSA, not gunning for another fight that might detract them from their war against cell phones and distracting gadgetry, says that marijuana can impair driving performance for up to three hours after use. Even marijuana experts concede that number may be too conservative. A good night’s sleep, preferably with company, might be better than what the NHTSA recommends.

For The Truth about In-Car Dope, head on over to Edmunds.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • AJ AJ on Jan 18, 2013

    In my younger days, the pot smokers I knew, at least when they were stoned or recently stoned, they were flat out dumb and without any ambition in life. It's great to know that more of them will be on the roads with us as we don't have enough already. It's like they're all coming out of the closet so to speak.

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    • Rwb Rwb on Jan 19, 2013

      Things have changed. More often than not, those stuck in the middle of life look down their noses at "stoners" and "addicts" all the while reporting, none the wiser, to someone who has no qualms sparking a joint. Among the very successful, you may be surprised.

  • Lorenzo Lorenzo on Jan 19, 2013

    All this talk of weed vs alcohol misses an important point. Many people who use the former also use the latter at the same time. One friend, a former big band musician, claimed they were the best combination to stay "functional". Then again, to go wherever he went, he called a cab.

  • Reclusive_in_nature Reclusive_in_nature on Jan 19, 2013

    When I'm high, the narrator (he sounds like a baseball sportscaster) in my head tells me to just relax and listen to some "music in 3D" instead of driving. For a figment of my stoned imagination he offers some very wise advice.

  • Rpn453 Rpn453 on Jan 19, 2013

    “Everyone knows that driving under the influence of marijuana is dangerous . . .” That would be news to me and most people I know if it has research to back it up. I know a lot of people who do a lot of driving while high. The ones with six-figure salaries to go along with their university degrees are the ones who do it most. It reduces aggression, which is good for the frustrations of city driving, and can stimulate the mind in mundane environments, which is good for otherwise tiresome highway driving at legal (or at least socially acceptable) speeds.

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