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[News] Drink / Drugs checks
- Thread starter southstandandy
- Start date
Mustafa II
Well-known member
Well then you're pretty unique. Most people who smoke weed wouldn't say "sorry, I still can't drive as I had a joint four days ago".
You do realize that you don't go from intoxicated to completely cannabis-free once the 4 days are up do you.
The problem with cannabis is that it is nominally illegal, so detection of any amount triggers a 'hit'. That's not how we deal with alcohol.
I will look up the PK of cannabinol (sorry, I meant THC) and explain this in more detail.....
That was easy. This means that after 24 h there won't be an active amount in the blood for normal users. Probably sooner.
Estimates of the elimination half‐life of THC vary 20. A population pharmacokinetic model has described a fast initial half‐life (approximately 6 min) and long terminal half‐life (22 h) 47, the latter influenced by equilibration between lipid storage compartments and the blood 37.
A relatively longer elimination half‐life is observed in heavy users 18, attributable to slow redistribution from deep compartments such as fatty tissues 18, 19. Consequently, THC concentrations >1 μg l–1 may be measurable in the blood of heavy users more than 24 h following the last cannabis use 18, 48, 49.
CBD has also been reported to have a long terminal elimination half‐life, with the average half‐life following intravenous dosing observed to be 24 ± 6 h and post‐inhalation to be 31 ± 4 h 21. An investigation of repeated daily oral administration of CBD elicited an elimination half‐life ranging from 2 to 5 days 50.
Mustafa II
Well-known member
Well that's the point.
It shouldn't be illegal to begin with, but it is, and it sounds as if people are being prosecuted for drug driving while not being intoxicated with cannabis, as it stays in the system for so long.
OK, that's a fair point. And it means that unless a legal level is set (as with alcohol) this allows the police to undertake a fishing expedition, and people are being done 1, 2 or more days after smoking when they are not impaired.
(If the car stinks of skunk, different matter. I have driven past vehicles in town and bee assailed by the smell of it).
For anyone unsure of the number of units in their favourite tipple, here's a table showing the units of alcohol for different strength beers (and whether a pint, small can or large can)
Wine (small glass, large glass, bottle):
With regards to working out how long to abstain from driving after drinking, it's also safer to add an hour from the time you finished your last drink before knocking off a unit per hour.
That allows for the time it takes for the body to absorb the alcohol before it can start removing it. e.g. if you neck your last half pint at last orders, it still has to get through your stomach & intestines before it enters the bloodstream and is subsequently dealt with by your liver.
| ABV (%) | Units (Pint - 568ml) | Units (330ml Can) | Units (440ml Can) |
2.5 | 1.42 | 0.82 | 1.1 |
3 | 1.7 | 0.99 | 1.32 |
3.5 | 1.99 | 1.16 | 1.54 |
4 | 2.27 | 1.32 | 1.76 |
4.5 | 2.56 | 1.49 | 1.98 |
5 | 2.84 | 1.65 | 2.2 |
5.5 | 3.12 | 1.81 | 2.42 |
6 | 3.41 | 1.98 | 2.64 |
6.5 | 3.69 | 2.15 | 2.86 |
7 | 3.98 | 2.31 | 3.08 |
Wine (small glass, large glass, bottle):
| ABV (%) | Units (175ml) | Units (250ml) | Units (750ml) |
11.5 | 2.01 | 2.88 | 8.62 |
12 | 2.1 | 3 | 9 |
12.5 | 2.19 | 3.12 | 9.38 |
13 | 2.27 | 3.25 | 9.75 |
13.5 | 2.36 | 3.38 | 10.12 |
14 | 2.45 | 3.5 | 10.5 |
14.5 | 2.54 | 3.62 | 10.88 |
With regards to working out how long to abstain from driving after drinking, it's also safer to add an hour from the time you finished your last drink before knocking off a unit per hour.
That allows for the time it takes for the body to absorb the alcohol before it can start removing it. e.g. if you neck your last half pint at last orders, it still has to get through your stomach & intestines before it enters the bloodstream and is subsequently dealt with by your liver.
schmunk
Why oh why oh why?
I once drove stoned, as a teenager many many years ago, in the dead of night on a deserted road for no more than a mile or so. It was one of the scariest experiences of my life and one I'll never repeat.
HHGull
BZ fan club
- Dec 29, 2011
- 743
It’s a scientific test of alcohol levels in blood / breath / urine - not a measure of how much sleep someone has had or whether they are a better driver the morning after.
You are either over or under the limit - whatever the time of day. And the respective level of alcohol in your system affects your driving the same regardless.
So, I think it’s good to see them out and proactively making a difference any time.
It's also a very visible (and timely) reminder to many people (directly and by middle-aged [mostly] men gassing about it on the internet), thereby acting as a strong deterrent.
I think it's a good idea and there's no reason why they can't do this AND nick pisshead Pete on his way home through the backroads from the Barley Mow...
PascalGroß Tips
Well-known member
- Jan 29, 2024
- 664
First motorists convicted in crackdown on drink and drug drivers
... including someone who was over the limit after consuming alcohol the night before.
Just don't do it ...
... including someone who was over the limit after consuming alcohol the night before.
Just don't do it ...
What does a limit of 2 micrograms per L of blood mean in practice based on your half-life research? Seems that is the legal limit……
Changes to drug driving law
Explains changes to drug driving law and the guidance available for healthcare professionals and users of prescription medicine.
It does. It seems that the top legal medic has deemed that a safe level. Beyond that there would be impairment of driving ability.What does a limit of 2 micrograms per L of blood mean in practice based on your half-life research? Seems that is the legal limit……
Changes to drug driving law
Explains changes to drug driving law and the guidance available for healthcare professionals and users of prescription medicine.www.gov.uk
I don't know where they got the 2 micrograms from. I'd be interested to read about the experiments that were conducted.
For alcohol the threshold is based around data on recorded blood levels in people done for bad driving. Not sure there is enough data on that for cannabis.
I don’t think they are deciding a safe limit. The measures in that guidance are the limits above which an individual cannot claim accidental exposure to the drugs. As it says there is zero tolerance for deliberate drug taking and driving.
I’m not sure how one could be accidentally exposed to something like cocaine though!
Cheshire Cat
The most curious thing..
If I had drunk two bottles of wine, I would be feeling far too "delicate" to even think of driving.
On a side note, I did get nicked for speeding going home from work one new year's eve. Not another car in sight for miles around until I rounded a bend and saw the camera crew far too late.
Stoners with cars are often either like you, "never again", or in the "cannabis makes me a better driver" camp.
From my experience, cannabis smokers drive rather calm and slow (unlike people on certain other drugs) but the brain delay... makes it uncomfortable imho. I have without a doubt smoked at least 50 000 joints in my life. I can safely say, from playing videos games and whatnot, that your reaction time increases. Its as if there's an extra layer of shit that need to be processed between "hmm, I should hit the break" and actually doing it. I think being stoned should be severly punished.
At the same time there needs to be balance. If you smoke a joint on Saturday and run someone over with your car on Wednesday, you may have some CBD/THC left in the system, but it won't be the main (or even partial) reason why it happened. "The lad smoked cannabis four days ago" almost becomes an excuse for someone who drove recklessly and didn't show enough respect to his surroundings, which should be punished even harder than being baked behind the wheel.
As for other drugs and driving. Lets just say I don't ride with cocaine people. I somewhat trust the heroine junkee to know his limitations, the stoner to go paranoidly slowly, the amphetaminist to be very awake and aware... but the coke lads, no. They don't know their limitations. And if there's a general decline in driving skills or increase in traffic accidents I would 100% investigate if there's a connection between increased coke use and those changes.
I keep my one and only speeding ticket in my car as a reminder not to act like a boy racer in my go faster Kia family car, when I was caught on camera two years ago doing 24mph on the A23 North of Croydon. At least I‘m not bitter about it.
Gabbafella
Well-known member
- Aug 22, 2012
- 4,927
Lost a good friend to a drug driver a few years ago along the coast road.
Anyone who gets in a vehicle with any amount of alcohol or drugs in their system, regardless of how many days have passed, deserves to lose their license for life. They are dangerous, inconsiderate wankers who shouldn't be in control of anything on the road.
Anyone who gets in a vehicle with any amount of alcohol or drugs in their system, regardless of how many days have passed, deserves to lose their license for life. They are dangerous, inconsiderate wankers who shouldn't be in control of anything on the road.
- Aug 7, 2003
- 8,127
Mustafa II
Well-known member
That's really obtuse.
Surely the only thing that matters is whether the driver is intoxicated and as a result of it their driving is impaired.
This should apply to prescription drugs, including caffeine, painkillers, anti-depressants or any other kind of drug that can affect driving performance.
If the drugs are still in their system and they are not intoxicated or impaired, they should NOT be prosecuted.
This shouldn't be controversial, but the law does need to catch up. Lots of drivers will be unfairly prosecuted, while others are legally while unsafely intoxicated, with the current laws.