Stoned behind the wheel? Study looking at effect of cannabis on driving

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is conducting a study that is looking at the impacts of cannabis on driving.

Lead scientist Robert Mann says the purpose of the study is to assess the impact of smoked cannabis on driving skills.

The study will explore a number of aspects of cannabis use while driving, Mann said, including the amount of cannabis in a person’s system and their performance in a driving simulation.

“We are also looking at residual effects of the drug,” Mann added.

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The study starts by screening participants to ensure they are the right fit for it, Mann explained.

“Of course, there is a lot of screening that goes on to make sure we don’t include people who shouldn’t be involved in the study,” he said.

Once the screening process is completed, participants come in to test the simulator – which resembles in the inside of a small car.

“They receive some pre-drug measure performance and some practice on the simulator and they perform the simulator task,” Mann said.

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Participants are then brought into a smoking room where they are given either a cannabis cigarette or a placebo.

“They then come back to this lab … and they perform more tests on the simulator and more tests on our measures on cognition and psycho-motor performance over the next five to six hours.”

The study will wrap up in the coming weeks and results published in fall 2016.