If you plan on smoking pot, the health unit wants you to do so responsibly.
With the cannabis now legal, the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge Health Unit is encouraging people to use some caution when getting high.
The substances and Harm Reduction Coordinator with HKPR, Catherine MacDonald, says “cannabis can impair our ability to drive a car or operate machinery, just like alcohol can,” adding “we need to be responsible and make the right choices to avoid impaired driving of any kind.”
According to the health unit, cannabis contains 140 chemicals including tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, which impacts brain function and the ability to think properly. Macdonald suggests that much like alcohol if you plan on smoking or consuming cannabis, it is important to plan ahead and never get behind the wheel. MacDonald says that encouraging others to be responsible is very important.
HKPR explains that the recent Canadian Cannabis Survey done by the federal government, almost 40 per cent of those surveyed admitted to smoking pot and getting behind the wheel within two hours of smoking. The survey also found that men were almost twice as likely to drive within two hours of smoking compared to women. Also detailed in the survey was one-quarter of those who drove within two hours of consuming cannabis were also drinking alcohol.
The health unit is reminding drivers that driving high carries similar penalties to those associated with drinking and driving.
