According to a new AAA study, marijuana consumers are more receptive to messages that promote safe driving and avoid stereotypes of stoners.
A pair of reports were released by the group on Wednesday. They examined how cannabis consumers view impaired driving, their own self-reported behaviour behind the wheels and strategies to discourage operating vehicles after marijuana consumption.
The technology to detect active impairment due to THC is still at an early stage. These studies are intended to provide information to the public and to help mitigate the risk of driving while impaired.
One of the key takeaways is that marijuana users are more inclined to respond to public safety messaging that focuses on personal responsibility—but not those that stigmatize cannabis consumers or veer out of the lane of facts.
Jake Nelson, AAA’s director of traffic-safety advocacy, stated in a recent press release that “effective messaging on cannabis-impaired-driving needs to include authentic voices, realistic scenarios, and respect language.” “Cannabis consumers come from all walks and backgrounds, so the message needs to reflect this.”
The study—titled “Development and Validation of Messaging to Deter Cannabis Impaired Driving”—found that focus groups of marijuana consumers were most receptive to messages that were “positive,” “realistic,” “avoided stereotypes” and “reflected diversity.”
AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety: “In the ranking exercise, messages that emphasize personal responsibility or safety concerns outperformed messages that focus on legal risk and separate cannabis from driving.”
These are the most popular messages according to the rankings study.
- It’s not just selfish to drive high. Do not drive after smoking marijuana.
- If you would not drink and drive why then drive high? You shouldn’t drive after smoking marijuana.
- Marijuana slows down your reaction time, impairs judgement and can increase the risk of an accident. Don’t drive high.
Researchers noted, however, that AI developed the most popular message via ChatGPT rather than the process of ideation in focus groups.
In terms of messaging, 39 percent said that they would trust industry-group advisories on cannabis and driving. A further 37 percent of respondents said they’d find it effective to receive these messages from marijuana companies.
It is important to find effective ways to convince cannabis users to refrain from driving while under the influence. AAA stated that this campaign must be planned and thoughtful. The risk message that seems intuitive might not work. Therefore, it’s important to test and validate the messages.
To that point, the federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been preparing a series of public education campaigns meant to deter driving after using marijuana—notably choosing messaging that leans into cannabis culture, rather than peddling negative stereotypes about consumers as government-backed PSAs have historically done.
AAA said that the research on driving and marijuana usage was motivated by the growing legalization movement as well as survey results.
AAA discovered that about 44 percent of respondents reported using cannabis more than once per day. About 58 percent also said they drive every day. 85 percent of respondents said that they have driven the day after they had used marijuana. Of those, 53 percent admitted to having consumed it within an hour before driving.
This may partly be due to the fact cannabis users believe that they are able to drive the same as before (47%) or a bit better (15%), or even much better (19%) after consuming marijuana.
David Yang is the executive director and president of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. He said: “Understanding the reasons why cannabis consumers drive drunk can help develop effective safety measures.” We aim to improve road safety by gaining insights about perceptions and decisions.
Note that AAA, in the past, has been a staunch opponent of marijuana reform. They have lobbied to stop legalization attempts, such as those made by Connecticut, Delaware, and Maryland. The organization has been accused by advocates of using “misinformation” and “propaganda” to support its efforts.
NORML reported in 2017. “One might hope that AAA is nonpartisan and would not be partisan, but would instead be the group that would help separate fact from fiction so that law enforcement officials would more readily adopt evidence-based marijuana regulations that would strengthen public safety.” “Instead they’re largely fear-mongering and further politicizing the issue—calling for the continued criminalization and arrest of millions of Americans who choose to use marijuana privately and responsibly.”
Other studies and reports contradict the AAA’s position.
For example, a scientific review of available evidence on the relationship between cannabis and driving that was released last October found that most research “reported no significant linear correlations between blood THC and measures of driving,” although there was an observed relationship between levels of the cannabinoid and reduced performance in some more complex driving situations.
The paper concludes, “Consensus is that blood THC does not correlate linearly with driving.” The paper concluded that this is “surprising given the fact that blood THC was used to detect marijuana-impaired driving.”
The report wasn’t the first one to dispel the notion that THC blood concentrations are a good proxy for driving impaired. In 2015, for instance, NHTSA concluded that it’s “difficult to establish a relationship between a person’s THC blood or plasma concentration and performance impairing effects,” adding that “it is inadvisable to try and predict effects based on blood THC concentrations alone.”
NHTSA also said in a report released last year that there is “relatively limited research” to support the notion that THC levels in blood can be measured for impairment. This raises questions about laws that are in place in some states which set limits “per se”.
The report notes that although several states have established legal definitions for cannabis impairment per se, relatively little research has been done to support their link with accident risk. This report says that contrary to the consensus of research which shows a correlation between cannabis and crash risk, there is little evidence supporting this. [blood alcohol content] The drug level in blood is not correlated with impaired driving.”
Last year, a researcher from the Department of Justice (DOJ), said states should “get away” from this idea that a marijuana-impaired person can be assessed based solely on THC levels in their system.
Frances Scott is a physical science at the National Institute of Justice’s Office of Investigative and Forensic Sciences, under DOJ.
That issue was also examined in a recent federally funded study that identified two different methods of more accurately testing for recent THC use that accounts for the fact that metabolites of the cannabinoid can stay present in a person’s system for weeks or months after consumption.
Back in 2022, Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) sent a letter to the Department of Transportation (DOT) and NHTSA seeking an update on the status of a federal report into testing THC-impaired drivers. The department was required to complete the report under a large-scale infrastructure bill that then-President Joe Biden (D) signed, but it missed that deadline and is unclear how much longer it will take.
In a report published last summer, the House Appropriations Committee stated it “continues its support for an objective standard that measures marijuana impairment and the related field sobriety tests to ensure road safety.”
A study published in 2019 concluded that those who drive at the legal THC limit—which is typically between two to five nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood—were not statistically more likely to be involved in an accident compared to people who haven’t used marijuana.
Separately, the Congressional Research Service in 2019 determined that while “marijuana consumption can affect a person’s response times and motor performance … studies of the impact of marijuana consumption on a driver’s risk of being involved in a crash have produced conflicting results, with some studies finding little or no increased risk of a crash from marijuana usage.”
Another study from 2022 found that smoking CBD-rich marijuana had “no significant impact” on driving ability, despite the fact that all study participants exceeded the per se limit for THC in their blood.
A poll finds that two out of three marijuana consumers are buying less cannabis due to inflation.