UCSD Conducting Study On Driving High

By Benjie Cooper

IG: @nuglifenews

YouTube: Lucid’s Vlog

University of Southern California San Diego’s (UCSD) Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) is partnering with the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to conduct a study to determine how soon one can safely drive after smoking cannabis.

“If you smoked this morning, are you impaired throughout the day?” said Tom Marcotte in an interview with KGTV. “Or are you not impaired? We’re trying to determine that.”

Following an initial visit, participants of the study will return to take a few test drives in a simulator before smoking a joint that might have a high THC content or none at all. The subjects then complete a battery of tests which includes driving simulations, digital performance assessments, field sobriety tests, and fluid tests.

In the performance assessment tests, participants complete tasks on iPads relating to motor control, attention, and memory. The information gathered during the process may be used to develop new field sobriety tests to help law enforcement identify stoned drivers.

“They really want to get the impaired driver off the road and not just someone who has THC in their blood,” said Marcotte. “Studies like ours can give people a better idea of how long they should wait before they drive.”

Researchers involved in the study, which was authorized by lawmakers, are still looking for about eighty volunteers with a history of using cannabis. Participants will receive $50 for the initial visit and $180 for the day-long study.

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