Road tripping

How high is “too-high-to-drive” high? I get stoned and drive all the time. I have never had an accident. Am I tripping?

—Tenfor Guudbuddy

You aren’t tripping and you may have a point. According to a recent study from the University of Iowa’s National Advanced Driving Simulator (http://tinyurl.com/highdriving), marijuana doesn’t really affect driving skills at all. The study found that stoned drivers had no real problems except for a tendency to weave a little bit inside their own lane, but only after consuming enough THC to have a BWC (Blood Weed Content. Like blood alcohol content but different because I just made it up) of 13.1 milligrams of THC. At that point, the stoned driver weaves like a person with a BAC of .08, but stoned drivers still performed better than drunk drivers in all three categories of the study. (By the way, the National Institute on Drug Abuse was a co-sponsor and they hate weed, so the fact that they even released this study is kind of a big deal.) The state of Washington says you are automatically guilty of a DUI if you have 5 milligrams in your system, but according to this study, 5 milligrams is no problem.

This is not to say that people should get stoned and drive around, but it does seem to indicate that the hysteria over marijuana legalization leading to more car wrecks is overblown. Let’s not forget that car wrecks are down 15 percent in Colorado since marijuana legalization. Weed is different than alcohol, and so far there is no way to tell if a person is incapable of driving if they have a little THC in their system, because having THC in your bloodstream doesn’t necessarily mean you are high. THC sticks around long after the effects have worn off. There a few companies looking to create some sort of cannabis breathalyzer (http://tinyurl.com/cannabuster), but a truly accurate method seems to be a few years away. Perhaps we should do what comedian Marc Maron suggested years ago: When you go to the DMV, you tell them you smoke pot. They let you burn one, then you go take your road test. If you pass, you get a sticker on your license that says “Pot OK!” He was kidding, but still. Anyway, getting stoned and driving is generally not a good idea. Operating a motor vehicle should be done with a clear head and an open heart. Be careful out there.

I heard the High Times Cup in Lemoore got canceled. What happened?

—Sintra L’Valley

Politics and prohibition happened. The city decided that they didn’t want the money and joy that cannabis festivals bring. That’s their loss. Apparently, thousands of people staying in hotels and eating at restaurants isn’t what the businesses of the depressed Central Valley need right now. Not to worry, the Humboldt Hempfest (www.mateel.org/hempfest.html) and the Emerald Cup (http://theemeraldcup.com) are still happening.