New Study Has Participants Smoke Marijuana and Then Try to Drive

The University of California San Diego’s Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research is studying the effects of stoned driving via simulation. Participants smoke marijuana and then use a driving simulator to gauge their impairment. The California Legislature approved the study between the university and California Highway Patrol.

Each joint consumed by the participants varies in THC level, with some having no THC, ABC 15 reports. Field sobriety tests, digital performance assessments and driving simulation tests are all part of the evaluation.

Co-director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research, Tom Marcotte, said, “If you smoked this morning are you impaired throughout the day? Are you impaired for a couple of hours? Or are you not impaired? We’re trying to answer that.”

The results from this study will help determine a proper course for field sobriety testing for police officers.

The study has 180 participants, making it the largest study to test marijuana’s effects on driving.