Letters to the editor - December 7, 2024

Cannabis use and driving

As Malta continues to experience more traffic deaths and injuries, societal shifts in the use and acceptability of cannabis and related products have combined with this trend for deadly results.

Ambiguity and misinformation about cannabis’ effects on driving cause confusion and concern both in the road safety community and for the public. Education and public outreach are critical tools that can easily be used by the authorities to convey safety messages.

Educational initiatives addressing the danger of driving impaired due to alcohol consumption have somewhat been successful in deterring drivers from getting behind the wheel after drinking, though more progress is needed to eliminate drunk driving.

When it comes to cannabis, however, we need to adapt to a different impairment landscape.

While there is general agreement that consuming cannabis can affect bodily systems and impair faculties important for safe driving, the precise impact of cannabis on driving is less clear and less easily understood by the public.

Many users do not believe cannabis negatively affects their driving. Photo: Shutterstock.com

Although most people believe that impaired driving is dangerous, many people view the risks of driving after drinking alcohol and driving after consuming cannabis differently.

The disconnect between using cannabis and safe driving underscores the urgent need for public education on this issue.

While public information and education about alcohol-impaired driving has long been a staple for our authorities, communications initiatives about cannabis- or multiple-substance-impaired-driving are less prevalent.

It is not enough that we have a regulatory body, the Authority for the Responsible Use of Cannabis.

Hard to admit, but the increasing incidence of erratic driving on our roads surely can be attributed, at least in part, to cannabis use and abuse.

The fact remains, unfortunately, that many users do not believe cannabis negatively affects their driving.

Not driving after using cannabis should be the primary focus of informational campaigns, not the use of cannabis itself.

Cannabis use and driving is a gamble that one just cannot win.

MARK SAID – Msida