Fed Study: Alcohol Greater Impact than Marijuana on Driving

A new study, partially funded by the federal government, reveals that alcohol has a larger impact on drivers than marijuana.

A researcher from the study said alcohol “significantly increased lane departures/minimum and maximum lateral acceleration; these measures were not sensitive to cannabis.” It was also concluded that marijuana-influenced drivers “may attempt to drive more cautiously to compensate for impairing effects, whereas alcohol-influenced drivers often underestimate their impairment and take more risk.”

The Office on National Drug Control Policy, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and federal safety regulator, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration funded the study. The National Institute on Drug Abuse says it used the “most sophisticated driving simulator of its kind to mirror real-life situations.”

The study participants consumed alcohol to reach approximately 0.065% peak breath alcohol concentration, inhaled vaporized marijuana or had a placebo.