Cannabis use ‘doubles risk of car crash’

GETTING behind the wheel within three hours of smoking cannabis could almost double the risk of a serious crash, research suggests.

A review of nine studies found that drivers were more likely to be involved in a collision with another car after smoking the class B drug.

Figures show there are around a million users of cannabis in the UK aged 16 to 24.

The research, published in the British Medical Journal, found cannabis use resulted in a “near doubling of risk of a driver being involved in a collision resulting in serious injury or death”.

But the researchers, from Dalhousie University, in Canada, said the impact of cannabis consumption “on the risk of minor crashes remains unclear”.

The experts added: “The results also accord with recent data for collisions that points to the increasing presence of drugs other than alcohol found in injured and fatally injured drivers.”