By CRM staff
Toronto, Ontario — December 5, 2018 — A recent survey released from the British Columbia Automobile Association revealed that since the legalization of cannabis, more people are open to getting high during the holiday season, which threatens to increase the number of impaired drivers.
The BCAA released the survey to 814 British Columbian adult cannabis and non-cannabis users. They found that 67 percent of cannabis users are open to using the drug at holiday events, and 54 percent of this group is planning on mixing alcohol and cannabis together.
The survey also found that 11 percent said they were open to trying cannabis for the first time over the holiday season. This number increased to 18 percent if they were offered to smoke pot from a relative or friend.
This resulted in 93 percent of all survey participants responding with a concern about those who get behind the wheel after mixing alcohol and cannabis.
Shawn Pettipas, BCAA’s director of Community Impact is also concerned about how cannabis and alcohol increase impairment.
Further concerns stem from a stat showing that 38 percent of survey respondents believe they are safe to drive after consuming the equivalent of one joint.
“This ‘one joint’ myth is worrisome,” says Pettipas who points out a new groundbreaking McGill University clinical study that proves that drivers are significantly impaired for at least five hours after consuming the equivalent of one joint.
BCAA is also keeping a close eye on other research, including a comprehensive study on cannabis from Statistics Canada in which 25 percent of users reported they’d driven a vehicle within two hours of using cannabis in combination with alcohol, an increase from 15 percent in 2017.
