Marijuana consumers respond better to anti-impaired driving messaging that\u2019s rooted in \u201crealistic\u201d portrayals of the issue that avoid stoner stereotypes, according to new research from AAA.<\/p>\n
The organization released a pair of studies on Wednesday that examined both how cannabis users view the topic of impaired driving and self-reported behavior behind the wheel, as well as strategies to deter operating vehicles after consuming marijuana.<\/p>\n
With technology on detecting active impairment from THC still in its infancy, the studies aim to inform the debate and provide potential solutions to mitigate the risks associated with driving under the influence.<\/p>\n
One of the key takeaways is that marijuana users are more inclined to respond to public safety messaging that focuses on personal responsibility\u2014but not those that stigmatize cannabis consumers or veer out of the lane of facts.<\/p>\n
\u201cEffective messaging about cannabis-impaired driving needs to include credible voices, real-world scenarios, and respectful language,\u201d Jake Nelson, AAA\u2019s director of traffic safety advocacy, said in a press release. \u201cIndividuals who consume cannabis come from all walks of life and that should be reflected in the messaging.\u201d<\/p>\n
The study\u2014titled \u201cDevelopment and Validation of Messaging to Deter Cannabis Impaired Driving\u201d\u2014found that focus groups of marijuana consumers were most receptive to messages that were \u201cpositive,\u201d \u201crealistic,\u201d \u201cavoided stereotypes\u201d and \u201creflected diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ranking exercise indicated that messages that highlighted personal responsibility and safety concerns performed better than messages based on legal risks and separating cannabis use from driving,\u201d AAA\u2019s Foundation for Traffic Safety found.<\/p>\n
Here are the top-rated messages from the ranking study:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Interestingly, the researchers noted that the top-ranked message was developed by AI via ChatGPT, rather than through the focus group ideation process.<\/p>\n Also with respect to messaging strategy, 39 percent of respondents said they\u2019d trust advisories about cannabis use and driving from industry groups. Another 37 percent said it\u2019d be effective to hear those messages from marijuana brands.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is pertinent need to identify effective means of persuading cannabis users not to get behind the wheel while they are under the influence. However, this effort needs to be thoughtful and planned out,\u201d AAA said. \u201cRisk messaging that might seem intuitive may, in fact, be ineffective, and thus it is important to screen and validate risk messages.\u201d<\/p>\n To that point, the federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been preparing a series of public education campaigns meant to deter driving after using marijuana<\/a>\u2014notably choosing messaging that leans into cannabis culture, rather than peddling negative stereotypes about consumers as government-backed PSAs have historically done.<\/p>\n AAA said<\/a> the motivation to conduct this latest<\/a> research<\/a> was based on the expanding legalization movement, as well as surveys on marijuana use and driving behavior.<\/p>\n For example, AAA found that 44 percent of respondents self-reported using cannabis multiple times per day, and about 58 percent said they drive daily. Eighty-five percent said they\u2019ve driven on the same day they used marijuana, including 53 percent who said they consumed an hour or less before driving.<\/p>\n That may be partly driven by the fact that cannabis consumers believe they drive either the same (47 percent), a little better (15 percent) or much better (19 percent) after using marijuana.<\/p>\n \u201cUnderstanding what motivates cannabis consumers to drive under the influence can be helpful in developing effective safety strategies,\u201d David Yang, president and executive director of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, said. \u201cWith insights on perceptions, decision-making, and behavior, we aim to inform policies and interventions that make our roads safer for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n It should be noted that AAA has historically advocated against marijuana reform, lobbying to block legalization efforts in states such as Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland, for example. Advocates have accused<\/a> the organization of relying on \u201cmisinformation and propaganda\u201d in those efforts.<\/p>\n \u201cOne would hope that AAA would be nonpartisan in this debate; that they would be the group to separate the facts from the myths so that politicians and law enforcement would be more likely to pursue evidence-based policies with regard to regulating marijuana in a manner that strengthens public safety,\u201d NORML said in 2017. \u201cInstead they\u2019re largely fear-mongering and further politicizing the issue\u2014calling for the continued criminalization and arrest of millions of Americans who choose to use marijuana privately and responsibly.\u201d<\/p>\n It should further be noted that, while AAA is suggesting that the expansion of the legalization movement raises the risk of more rampant impaired driving, other studies and reports have contradicted that position.<\/p>\n For example, a scientific review of available evidence on the relationship between cannabis and driving that was released last October found that most research \u201creported no significant linear correlations between blood THC and measures of driving,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0although there was an observed relationship between levels of the cannabinoid and reduced performance in some more complex driving situations.<\/p>\n \u201cThe consensus is that there is no linear relationship of blood THC to driving,\u201d the paper concluded. \u201cThis is surprising given that blood THC is used to detect cannabis-impaired driving.\u201d<\/p>\n That report was by no means the first research to challenge the popular view that THC blood levels are a suitable proxy for driving impairment. In 2015, for instance, NHTSA concluded that it\u2019s \u201cdifficult to establish a relationship between a person\u2019s THC blood or plasma concentration and performance impairing effects,\u201d adding that\u00a0\u201cit is inadvisable to try and predict effects based on blood THC concentrations alone.\u201d<\/p>\n In a separate report last year, NHTSA said there\u2019s \u201crelatively little research\u201d backing the idea that THC concentration in the blood can be used to determine impairment<\/a>, again calling into question laws in several states that set \u201cper se\u201d limits for cannabinoid metabolites.<\/p>\n \u201cSeveral states have determined legal per se definitions of cannabis impairment, but relatively little research supports their relationship to crash risk,\u201d that report says. \u201cUnlike the research consensus that establishes a clear correlation between [blood alcohol content] and crash risk, drug concentration in blood does not correlate to driving impairment.\u201d<\/p>\n Similarly, a Department of Justice (DOJ) researcher said last year that states may need to \u201cget away from that idea\u201d that marijuana impairment can be tested based on the concentration of THC in a person\u2019s system<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you have chronic users versus infrequent users, they have very different concentrations correlated to different effects,\u201d Frances Scott, a physical scientist at the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Office of Investigative and Forensic Sciences under DOJ, said.<\/p>\n That issue was also examined in a recent federally funded study that identified\u00a0two different methods of more accurately testing for recent THC use<\/a>\u00a0that accounts for the fact that metabolites of the cannabinoid can stay present in a person\u2019s system for weeks or months after consumption.<\/p>\n Back in 2022, Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) sent a letter to the Department of Transportation (DOT) and NHTSA\u00a0seeking an update on the status of a federal report into testing THC-impaired drivers<\/a>. The department was required to complete the report\u00a0under a large-scale infrastructure bill<\/a> that then-President Joe Biden (D) signed, but it missed that deadline and is unclear how much longer it will take<\/a>.<\/p>\n Last summer, a congressional report for a Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) bill said that the House Appropriations Committee \u201ccontinues to support the development of an objective standard to measure marijuana impairment and a related field sobriety test to ensure highway safety<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n A study published in 2019 concluded that those who drive at the legal THC limit\u2014which is typically between two to five nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood\u2014were not statistically more likely to be involved in an accident<\/a>\u00a0compared to people who haven\u2019t used marijuana.<\/p>\n Separately, the\u00a0Congressional Research Service in 2019 determined<\/a>\u00a0that while \u201cmarijuana consumption can affect a person\u2019s response times and motor performance \u2026 studies of the impact of marijuana consumption on a driver\u2019s risk of being involved in a crash have produced conflicting results, with some studies finding little or no increased risk of a crash from marijuana usage.\u201d<\/p>\n Another study from 2022 found that smoking CBD-rich marijuana had\u00a0\u201cno significant impact\u201d on driving ability<\/a>, despite the fact that all study participants exceeded the per se limit for THC in their blood.<\/p>\n Two Out Of Three Marijuana Consumers Are Buying Less Cannabis Due To Inflation, Poll Finds<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Marijuana Consumers Respond Better To \u2018Realistic\u2019 Anti-Impaired Driving Message That Avoid Stoner Stereotypes, AAA Study Finds<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Marijuana consumers respond better to anti-impaired driving messaging that\u2019s rooted in \u201crealistic\u201d portrayals of the issue that avoid stoner stereotypes, according to new research from AAA. The organization released a pair of studies on Wednesday that examined both how cannabis users view the topic of impaired driving and self-reported behaviorContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[99,18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80550"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80550"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80551,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80550\/revisions\/80551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Marijuana Consumers Respond Better To \u2018Realistic\u2019 Anti-Impaired Driving Message That Avoid Stoner Stereotypes, AAA Study Finds<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"