ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Published Online: 1 April 1983
Page Count: 8

The Use of Marihuana, Ethanol, and Other Drugs Among Drivers Killed in Single-Vehicle Crashes
McBay, AJ
Chief toxicologist, Office of Chief Medical Examiner and professor, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, NC

Cook, CE
Director for Biorganic Chemistry, Research Triangle Institute, NC

Owens, SM
Graduate student, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, NC

(Received 28 June 1982; accepted 27 July 1982)

Abstract

Marihuana, ethanol, and other drugs are considered by many to be detrimental to the safe operation of motor vehicles. However, direct epidemiological evidence for this belief exists only for ethanol. The goal of this investigation was to determine the incidence of the psychoactive ingredient of marihuana, Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), along with ethanol and other drugs in blood specimens from a carefully defined population of dead drivers. Although THC and other drugs were present in a small number of the blood specimens, the large number of specimens that had high blood ethanol concentrations indicated that alcohol is still the major drug affecting highway safety.

Keywords:
toxicology, motor vehicle accidents, alcohol, marihuana

Paper ID: JFS11517J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS11517J
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