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Marijuana
Drug Recognition Experts with the Washington State Patrol say marijuana can cause dizziness and slowed reaction time, and drivers are more likely to drift and swerve while they're high.(Linda Thomas photo)

Marijuana is top drug used by drivers the WSP pulled over

November 15, 2012 @ 7:49 pm (Updated: 7:46 am - 11/16/12 )

The Washington State Patrol has significant experience pulling over stoned drivers.

After alcohol, marijuana is the top drug used by people they've stopped for impaired driving so far in 2012, followed by methamphetamine and oxycodone.

A few months ago, I wrote about 200 officers in Washington who are trained to know which drug a person is using by observing them - Drug Recognition Experts.

Washington State Patrol Sergeant Mark Crandall is a DRE trainer. In his 20 years as a trooper he's seen thousands of people who use prescription or illegal drugs, then drive. Some of them are high on a combination of things.

"We find people who are using stuff off the shelf, the huffers, the recreational drug users who take something for a feeling, illegal drugs, the underground drugs, the heroin and meth," says Crandall. "When you ask what we're encountering, I always say, 'What can you imagine?' It can be anything."

Crandall and others with the WSP are training to enforce new provisions that come with Washington's marijuana law.

"We've had decades of studies and experience with alcohol," says Dan Coon, a WSP spokesman. "Marijuana is new, so it's going to take some time to figure out how the courts and prosecutors are going to handle it. But the key is impairment: We will arrest drivers who drive impaired, whether it be drugs or alcohol."

Statistics gathered for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that in 2009, one third of fatally injured drivers tested positive for drugs in their blood.

Crandall says pot can cause dizziness and slowed reaction time, and drivers are more likely to drift and swerve while they're high.

Unlike portable breath tests for alcohol, there's no road-side test to determine whether someone is impaired from marijuana use.

The ingredient in cannabis that is most frequently detected in blood tests from impaired drivers is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Peak THC concentrations are reached during the act of smoking, and within three hours, they generally fall to less than 5 nanograms per milliliter of blood. That is roughly the same as a .08 limit for alcohol.

According to Washington law, blood tests above 5 nanograms would automatically subject the driver to a DUI conviction.

Under the new Washington law, a pot smoker would cross the limit after two or three hits from a joint, and remain too high to drive for a couple of hours.

Critics say the science around pot-impaired driving is not settled and the National Institute on Drug Abuse says more research is needed to understand pot's impact on driving.

You might also like:

Marijuana Q&A with Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes
King County dropping misdemeanor marijuana possession cases

By LINDA THOMAS

AP contributed to this report

More from Linda Thomas

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Comments (46)


  • Add A Comment

  • CH wrote...
    * Marijuana is top drug used by drivers the WSP pulled over . . . .
    November 16, 2012 6:06 am
    it was not a problem in the 70's. I know first hand. No problem driving stoned. Sure the same is true today.
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  • ron prevost wrote...
    CH, I had no ptoblem driving with grass in the 70's either.
    November 16, 2012 8:11 am
    But it took a heck of a lot then to get stoned. Today's bud is closer to what hash was 40 years ago. ... And can be addictive.

    I've no problem if those who can use pot want to - including medical marijuana, of course. .. Just don't delude yourself into thinking it's OK to drive stoned.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    BTW, if stone ISN'T screwed up, recreationally.
    November 16, 2012 8:12 am
    then what's the point?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Cigarillo wrote...
    @CH
    November 16, 2012 11:21 am
    Hopefully with the legal acceptance of weed will come the same self-realization the most (I said MOST) consumers of alcohol have: Aside from song writing, NOTHING is done better stoned. Trust me, you drove like crap.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sportsguru wrote...
    BS
    November 16, 2012 6:15 am

    Alcohol is hands down, stop with this insane madness. The initiative has been passed, move on and quit with the lies. The thought that officers are trained to look at you and automatically determine what drug you have used is just an insult to peoples intelligence,lol

    Stop the madness, I know the media is used to influence peoples view, but man, stop the madness.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Realitycheck wrote...
    No problem
    November 16, 2012 6:55 am
    Say the two left wing wackos...lol. Too funny how the expose themselves. But then again, you need to be high to believe a liars like Obama and Gregoire.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • anotherfencewalker wrote...
    Linda..
    November 16, 2012 7:20 am
    I know...Pick picky but the text says "After alcohol, marijuana is the top drug used by people they've stopped..." Kind of contradicts the headline. Like it or not, alcohol is a drug.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ten4goodbuddy wrote...
    lol
    November 16, 2012 8:09 am
    That was my first thought as well... Alcohol is not considered a drug? Headline is immediately contradicted by the second sentence in the article.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ten4goodbuddy wrote...
    BTW
    November 16, 2012 10:55 am
    I see how you escaped the error here. You didn't state it was THE top drug, just was 'A' top drug, leaving the 'A' off. Sneaky sensationalism for Headlining!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • JustAnotherFish wrote...
    Mislead much?
    November 16, 2012 8:12 am
    "AFTER ALCOHOL, marijuana is the top drug used by people they've stopped for impaired driving so far in 2012..."

    Nice, inaccurate headline, contradicted in the second sentence of the report. Marijuana is probably the most common drug used, after alcohol. Besides caffeine. Or aspirin. Or...

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Republicans are losers wrote...
    Doesn’t the Bible say
    November 16, 2012 8:15 am
    A Man who lies with a Man or a Woman who lies with a Woman must be stoned.

    Easy in Washington.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Saltchucker wrote...
    We're gonna alot about that 5 nanogram limit.
    November 16, 2012 8:52 am
    Not much scientific basis for it. Study up DUI lawyers you're about to get alot busier!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HLC wrote...
    Finally the dopers will pay their share.
    November 16, 2012 9:02 am
    First we'll tax them then we'll fine then for driving after doping a day ago. Perfect. All we need now is a way to require them to have jobs before they can buy it. Then maybe the losers can pay the fines.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ten4goodbuddy wrote...
    HLC
    November 16, 2012 10:16 am
    Ever drank alcohol? Ever took a day off of work because you drank too much the night before? How about more than a day off of work? Answer 'Yes' to any of those questions, and you would be considered a loser by others standards. I love to see the type of people who comment and generalize about the behaviors of those who smoke weed. You either were raised in a ghetto or you have been so sheltered in your life that you need to actually LIVE before you pass judgment on others.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • WAmovesRight wrote...
    If the only test is...
    November 16, 2012 10:20 am
    ... a blood test. How are they going to get that within three hours?

    Will they be able to draw blood without your consent? Will it require at least a warrant?

    If it's 1am will they have a judge on duty throughout the night to sign a warrant, or will there be yet another law enacted that invades your protection against unreasonable search and seizure?

    I don't smoke the herb, but if I didn, I wouldn't consent to my blood being drawn until I'd had time to speak with my attorney. Of course, by then I should be free and clear, right?

    Does anyone know how they do it now?

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Snout wrote...
    That's what this region needs
    November 16, 2012 10:32 am
    Stoned drivers. Even more people who drive too slow, don't know how to merge or change lanes, and generally don't pay attention to their surroundings. Hey if you want to fire one up in your basement and then marvel at your own profundity I don't care. Just order a delivery pizza instead of trying to share the road with me.
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  • ten4goodbuddy wrote...
    Amen
    November 16, 2012 10:50 am
    It looks like most of the drivers on the road are stoned already. I cant believe people smoke weed and then drive. Sadly decision making on these people's part is most likely universally poor.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • JustAnotherFish wrote...
    It doesn't change a thing...
    November 16, 2012 12:31 pm
    Believe it or not, the number of people driving under the influence isn't going to change much just because it's "legal".

    Why is it so hard to understand? LOTS of people smoke grass, and lots of those folks are normal, productive citizens. Smart, respectable, sensible about using any substance that may affect their abilities.

    Fear-mongering and sensationalizing: the new American pastime.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • irony wrote...
    i've seen it and it's scarry driving next to them
    November 16, 2012 11:14 am
    they can't maintain safe distances so they end up hitting the driver ahead of them.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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