POT IS BEING MADE A SCAPEGOAT IN ROAD ACCIDENTS

I don't say it's right that young people should drive after smoking marijuana. But studies show their response times are better than those who drink alcohol.

I have been baked while driving, and have never come close to a crash. I've never made an error, because marijuana doesn't cause people who are in control of their thoughts and their ability to focus to make mistakes.

I no longer drive by choice, and I agree we shouldn't be driving under the influence. But marijuana is being made a scapegoat.

This stems from angry parents looking for justification for why their kid has made a fatal error.

It's far too easy to see the aftermath of a crash, do some blood work and blame the fact that marijuana is in a person's system.

But was that the cause of the collision?

Perhaps a kid got high, went for a drive, dropped a French fry on the ground and, while reaching for it, drove into a tree.

The poor decision is reaching for the French fry.

If a teen or anyone else makes the decision to drive when they are out of control, then we need to address the issue of why someone hasn't taught this person to make the right decision.

We blame marijuana, but why don't we equally blame parents or society?

Monty Labowsky

Vancouver

Sun, 30 Jul 2006
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2006 The Province
Contact: provletters@png.canwest.com
Website: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/