Even though Wednesday is the day recreational marijuana becomes legal in Canada, the statistics from accidents in Saskatchewan show it is already second only to alcohol as the drug most frequently found drivers involved in accidents have consumed.
It’s also the most frequent drug found mixed with alcohol usage in vehicle collisions.
CAA funded a McGill University study that looks at the impact of smoking the equivalent of less than one typical joint.
CAA Saskatchewan spokesperson, Christine Niemczyk, says using a driving simulator, the research showed driving performance declined significantly in areas like reaction time and the ability to judge distance.
At first, with no distractions the drivers did okay, but as soon as conditions became more realistic, driving performance declined.
A large percentage of the students reported not feeling safe to drive even 5 hours later.
Niemczyk says the simple message remains the same after Wednesday as it did before – if you’re impaired, don’t drive. Find another way home.