Motor Vehicle Collision Risk and Driving Under the Influence of Cannabis: Evidence from Adolescents in Atlantic Canada

Objective: Employing a sample of 6087 senior students in Atlantic Canada, this paper examines the relationship between driving under the influence of cannabis (DUIC) and motor vehicle collision (MVC) risk. A series of models were analyzed adjusting for demographic characteristics, driver experience, and substance use.

Methods: Participants were drawn from the 2002/2003 Student Drug Use Survey in the Atlantic Provinces, an anonymous cross-sectional survey of adolescent students in the Atlantic provinces of Canada. Logistic regression techniques were employed in the analysis of unadjusted and adjusted models.

Results: Among senior students, the prevalence of DUIC in the past year was 15.1% while the prevalence of MVCs was 8.1%. The predictors of DUIC were gender, driver experience, use of a fake ID, and driving under the influence of alcohol (DUIA). The predictors of MVC were gender, driver experience, DUIC, and DUIA.

Conclusions: These findings extend our knowledge of DUIC as a socio-legal and public health issue with implications on road safety. Effort must be placed on educating new drivers about cannabis use in the context of driving.