Some marijuana smokers claim that they can drive safely while intoxicated by the drug. Others are of the opinion that it’s very dangerous to driver after smoking. Regardless what your opinion is, it’s illegal to smoke marijuana and operate a vehicle in North Carolina. Those found guilty of drugged driving could find themselves facing extremely serious criminal penalties.
According to experts, marijuana impairs motor coordination, slows down reaction time and decreases judgment abilities. Scientific studies have also revealed a relationship between the amount of THC in the bloodstream and the degree to which driving ability is impaired.
Marijuana is the most common illegal drug found in the systems of motorists involved in car crashes. This includes fatal car crashes as well. According to one study, drivers with marijuana in their blood had double the chance of being blamed for a crash. Drivers with both alcohol and marijuana in their systems were shown to have an extremely high chance of being blamed for a crash.
These studies, however, cannot prove definitively if the drivers were intoxicated by marijuana at the time of their crashes, only that they had marijuana in their systems. Indeed, marijuana stays in a driver’s system for long periods of time following use. Also, a study performed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration did not find a correlation between the use of marijuana and car accident.
Driving while intoxicated by marijuana is illegal. Those accused of this offense, however, will have the ability to defend themselves in court. An experienced criminal defense attorney can be enormously helpful to defendants who are facing such allegations.
Source: drugbase.org, “Does marijuana use affect driving?,” accessed April 07, 2017