Meta-Analysis: Marijuana Within 3 Hours of Driving Near 2X Risk of Serious Car Accidents
“Drivers who consume cannabis within a 3-hour period before driving are nearly twice as likely to cause a serious car accident, resulting in serious injury or death, as those who are not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, a new meta-analysis shows.
The systematic review of observational studies examining the risk for vehicular collision after consuming cannabis is the first of its kind.
‘[T]his meta-analysis of studies examining acute cannabis consumption and motor vehicle collisions, with adequate control groups, found a near doubling of risk of a driver being involved in a motor vehicle collision resulting in serious injury or death,’ the investigators, led by Mark Asbridge, PhD, from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, write.
Previous studies, the authors note, have failed to distinguish the effects of alcohol and other substances from the effects of the use of cannabis, resulting in a lack of consensus.”
