"If a stoned person crashes a car into a tree, is he harming only himself?"
If a person is *driving while IMPAIRED*, then they are CERTAINLY putting the lives and health of OTHER citizens at risk.
And, since a license to drive is a *privilege* that is issued by the government --- not a natural right --- then the government is certainly justified in policing this matter.
(Incidentally --- you might not be aware of this --- while there are MANY popular 'recreational drugs' that humans take that would definitely IMPAIR one's ability to be a safe driver... with ALCOHOL right up there at the top of the list for the amount of deaths and damage that drunk drivers do every year, you might be SURPRISED that there is VERY LITTLE objective evidence that marijuana [alone...] poses a risk to drivers. Not that I would recommend that anyone drive while under the influence of any substance! certainly not sleeping pills or a whole bunch of prescription or over-the-counter medicines either.)
But, in the ONLY large, peer-reviewed, double-blind study of this question that I've ever heard about --- a study done by the United Kingdom's Highway Department and national police a couple of years back... testing *thousands* of people --- they were surprised to find that their data actually showed a SMALLER RISK (over all) for marijuana stoned drivers to have an accident, or break the driving laws, then their was for the rest of their sample, the non-users.
The researchers had to scratch their heads a bit over this one: a result showing an actual IMPROVEMENT in driving safety by marijuana drivers (a small improvement)... but they put forward the hypothesis that perhaps it was because (unlike with alcohol users, where their was a CLEAR decrease in driving ability with every single drink, and an increase in risk of accidents) the marijuana users were fully *aware* of their slight impairment, and how it affected them, and that therefore they chose to drive a little bit SLOWER and SAFER then they normally would have when not under the influence.
The ONLY experimental sample that showed any increase in driving risk while under the influence... was the FIRST TIME marijuana users.
The researchers theorized that (unlike the 'experienced' users), first timers were NOT familiar with the effects and thus did not adjust their driving to remain safe.
(A reasonable theory, I'll wager, since I'm pretty sure --- from personal experience :-( --- that first time BOOZERS are really, really unsafe drivers. I'm sure WAY MORE unsafe then even the very unsafe older drinkers.)
The interesting point that this study underlined,, for me, was that we should never take 'popular knowledge', or especially any government's official propaganda, to be the gospel truth....
Rather we should wait for honest studies, and actual facts to come in... and then base our policies on the world as it REALLY IS, not on how we imagine that it is....
While, as I said earlier, I would never believe that it would be 'good' for someone to drive under the influence of ANY substance... from the best evidence available, it appears that 'marijuana driving' appears to pose little if any heightened risks to the rest of the general public. Not that I would automatically give it a 'pass' though. Nor would I give a 'pass' to someone taking cold medicine such as cough sirrup, for example.
I BELIEVE that 'driving impairment tests', (making people 'walk the line', touch their noses, walk backwards and such), is probably the VERY BEST WAY to keep our roads safe --- and a VALID MEANS for charging someone with breaking the law.
If your REFLEXES are OFF, Bill --- REGARDLESS of why, regardless of if your 'doctor prescribed something', or if you didn't sleep last night, or you forgot your glasses --- WHATEVER the reason, if you are UNSAFE behind the wheel, then I believe it is appropriate for the authorities to charge you with an offense, and keep you from driving and endangering others. |
