The perception of harm and drugged driving


Only 34 percent of high school students thought people their age greatly risked harming themselves, physically or in other ways, if they smoked marijuana regularly.²

This is concerning because:

• 32% of 12th grade students report riding with someone using marijuana in the past month.²

• 20% of 12th grade students report driving when using marijuana in the past month.²

• These rates are higher than driving after drinking alcohol or riding in a car with a drinking driver.²

Among the 8% of adults who reported past-month marijuana use, 30% said they recently drove after use.⁴

^(sources)
1. 2009/2010 National Survey on Drug Use
2. 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey for Vermont
3. Department of Health 2012 Treatment Data
^4. 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

Marijuana use & fatal car accidents

The latest CESAR Fax published by the University of Maryland, College Park shows that the percentage of fatally injured drivers testing positive for drugs has increased over the last five years. Each year between 56% and 65% of drivers fatally injured in motor vehicle crashes were tested for the presence of drugs in their systems. In 2009, 33% of drivers with known test results tested positive for at least one drug compared to 28% in 2005. In 2009 marijuana was the most prevalent drug found in this population. Approximately 28% of fatally injured drivers who tested positive were positive for marijuana. This data indicates that drugged driving remains a national and growing problem on the nation's roads.
To read more go to:

http://druggeddriving.org/pdfs/CESARFAX1949DrugInvolvementofFatallyInjuredDrivers.pdf

Myths and Facts

This is a link to an excellent booklet that looks at 10 different public perceptions on Marijuana, and uses studies, data, and gathered evidence to change those perceptions.
Myths include:
Myth #1 Marijuana is harmless
Myth #2 Marijuana is not addictive
Myth #3 Marijuana is not as harmful to your health as tobacco
Myth #7 If I buy Marijuana I am not hurting anyone else
Myth #10 The government sends otherwise innocent people to prison for causal marijuana use.

Check it out at:
http://www.ncjrs.gov/ondcppubs/publications/pdf/marijuana_myths_facts.pdf

Marijuana Addiction

Our brains are wired to ensure that we will repeat life-sustaining activities by associating those activities with pleasure or reward. Whenever this reward circuit is activated, the brain notes that something important is happening that needs to be remembered, and teaches us to do it again and again, without thinking about it. Because marijuana stimulates the same circuit, people learn to abuse it in the same way.

When some drugs of abuse are taken, they can release 2 to 10 times the amount of dopamine that natural rewards do. The effect of such a powerful reward strongly motivates people to take drugs again and again, leading to dependence.

Other criteria for substance dependence include tolerance (needing more of the substance to achieve the same effects, or diminished effect with the same amount of the substance); withdrawal symptoms; using a drug even in the presence of adverse effects; and giving up social, occupational, or recreational activities because of substance use.

According to the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 4.3 million Americans were classified with dependence on or abuse of marijuana. That figure represents 1.8 percent of the total U.S. population and 60.3 percent of those classified as individuals who abuse or are dependent on illicit drugs

Vermont Law

Laws about Marijuana are under the Vermont Health Statutes. Although Vermont allows some use of medical marijuana, all other use or possession is illegal.

If you are convicted of possession with less than 2oz. of marijuana, that offense is still a misdemeanor in Vermont, and on your first prosecuted offense, can cost you upto 6 months in jail and or $500.

A second offense for possession is a felony, and can mean up to 2 years in jail and a $2000 fine.

If you are caught growing 3 or more plants, or if you are selling 1/2 oz or less, you could get up to 3 years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.

These convictions go on a permanent record. Some of the rights you take for granted, are not guaranteed after a conviction, such as:

Freedom to travel (parole limitations or border trouble)
Ability to receive student loans and scholarships
Ability to vote (with a felony, you lose this right until the end of your incarceration)
Ability to get a job or apartment (criminal background checks may take you out of the running)

Think about what you're risking. Windham County has two Drug Recognition Experts who are able to identify what drug or drugs an intoxicated person has used. The police are out there.

Marijuana and Driving

Marijuana harms when it contributes to auto crashes or other incidents that injure or kill, a problem that is especially prevalent among young people. In a study reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, even a moderate dose of marijuana was shown to impair driving performance. The study measured reaction time and how often drivers checked the rearview mirror, side streets, and the relative speed of other vehicles.
Another study looked at data concerning shock-trauma patients who had been involved in traffic crashes. The researchers found that 15 percent of the trauma patients who were injured while driving a car or motorcycle had been smoking marijuana, and another 17 percent had both THC and alcohol in their blood. Statistics such as these are particularly troubling in light of recent survey results indicating that almost 36 million people age 12 or older drove under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, or another illicit drug in the past year.

Marijuana: Depression and Suicide

Research conducted in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand has provided evidence of a connection between marijuana use and depression.


• One 16-year study showed that individuals who were not depressed and then used
marijuana were four times more likely to be depressed at follow up.

• Another study investigated changes over a 14-year period and found that marijuana
use was a predictor of later major depressive disorder.

• Yet another study over a 21-year period found that marijuana use was associated
with depression, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts.

• A 2007 study of 3,239 Australian young adults from birth to age 21 found a
relationship between early initiation, and frequent use of cannabis and symptoms
of anxiety and depression, regardless of a personal or family history of mental illness.

More Facts about Marijuana

Marijuana is addictive. More teens are in treatment with a primary diagnosis of marijuana dependence than for all other illicit drugs combined.
Source: Treatment Episodes Data Set (TEDS) 1992-2002, SAMHSA, 2006

Young people who use marijuana weekly have double the risk of depression later in life.
Source: Patton, GC et al. "Cannabis use and mental health in young people: cohort study." British Medical Journal, 325: 1195–1198, 2002

Heavy Marijuana users are more likely than non-users to be diagnosed with schizophrenia later in life. A recent study found that people who had used marijuana more than 50 times before the age of 18, had a three fold increased risk of developing schizophrenia later in life.
Source: Zammit, S et al., "Self-reported cannabis use as a risk factor for schizophrenia in Swedish conscripts of 1969: historical cohort study," British Medical Journal, 325:1199-1201, 2002 Arseneault L, et al., "Cannabis use in adolescence and risk for adult psychosis: longitudinal prospective study," British Medical Journal, 325:1212-1213, 2002

Marijuana can cause increased heart rate and make some users extremely anxious or paranoid.
Source: NIDA. Marijuana: Facts for Teens, 2008

Heavy marijuana use impairs young people's ability to concentrate and retain information.
Source: Pope HG et al., "Early-onset cannabis use and cognitive deficits: what is the nature of the association?" Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 69(3): 303-310, 2003.

The short-term effects of marijuana can include problems with memory and learning.
Source: NIDA. Marijuana: Facts for Teens, 2008

Marijuana Facts: Its Effects on the Community

There are many popular misconceptions about marijuana and its effects on a community, most of which stem from the idea that it is a natural substance that is harmless and not addictive. Below are some facts about marijuana and its use among Windham County’s youth:

-All forms of marijuana are mind-altering (they change how the brain works). They all contain THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) and more than 400 other chemicals. Marijuana’s effects on the user depend on its strength or potency, which is related to the amount of THC it contains. The THC content of marijuana has been increasing since the 1970s. Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2001, March 13). Marijuana: Facts for Teens, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

-Smoking marijuana leads to changes in the brain that are similar to those caused by cocaine, heroin, or alcohol. Source: Marijuana: Facts Parents Need to Know, Revised, NIDA, November 1998.

-Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug. It is used by 76% of current illicit drug users. Approximately 59% of current illicit drug users consumed only marijuana, 17% used marijuana and another illicit drug, and the remaining 24% used an illicit drug but not marijuana in the past month. Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2002, February 14). Summary of Findings from the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (Office of Applied Studies, NHSDA Series H-13 ed.)
Windham Southeast Supervisory Union (WSESU) Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) 2009 Results – 28% of 8th-12th graders surveyed have used marijuana in the past 30 days.

-More than 4,300 youths per day used at least one kind of illicit drug for the first time, primarily marijuana (3,577 new initiates on an average day). The substances with the lowest number of initiates on an average day were methamphetamine (236) and heroin (86). A copy of the report, which also describes average daily substance use prevalence and treatment admissions by youth, is available online at http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k7/youthFacts/youth.cfm.
WSESU YRBS – 40% of students have tried marijuana.

-Kids are using marijuana at an earlier age. In the late 1960s fewer than half of those using marijuana for the first time were under 18. By 2001, about two-thirds (67%) of marijuana users were younger than 18. Source: Trends in Initiation of Substance Use. Based on the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. SAMHSA, 2003.
WSESU YRBS – 10% of students have used marijuana prior to age 13.

-More teens are in treatment with a primary diagnosis of marijuana dependence than for all other illicit drugs combined. Source: TEDS, SAMHSA, October 2001.
WSESU YRBS – 14% of students have used marijuana 10 or more times during the past 30 days.

-High school seniors are more likely to use illicit drugs than alcohol in a car, according to findings from the 2006 national Pride Survey. Ten percent of 12th graders reported that the usual place they drink alcohol is in a car, while 13% said they usually use marijuana and 14% said they use illicit drugs in a car. While the survey question did not ask if the student was driving, the findings suggest that “illicit drugs may be more prevalent than alcohol in teenage impaired driving.” Source: Adapted by CESAR from International Survey Associates, “Teen Drug Use in Cars,” PRIDE Newsletter, January 16, 2007.
WSESU YRBS – 15% of students have driven after smoking marijuana within the past 30 days.

-WSESU YRBS – 60% of students know an adult who has used marijuana, cocaine, or another illegal drug during the past year (up from 53% in 2005 and 55% in 2007).

-WSESU YRBS – 37% of students know an adult who has sold drugs during the past year.