cannabisnews.com: Medications' Effects on Driving Weighed Medications' Effects on Driving Weighed Posted by FoM on November 22, 2001 at 21:30:40 PT By Lauran Neergaard, Associated Press Source: Washington Post Some common medications for colds, allergies and anxiety can impair driving ability as much as alcohol does -- but in ways so subtle that people may not realize they are impaired.The government is debating how to warn people about medicating before driving cars, boats, trains or airplanes. It also is considering whether to test crash victims' blood for legal medications. Fine print on dozens of over-the-counter medications warns of sedation. But new research using driving simulators suggests sedation is the wrong word: You may not feel sleepy as the drug slows your reaction time or leaves you weaving across the road.Consequently, people who are not yawning may falsely assume it is okay to drive, critics told a joint meeting of the nation's top drug regulators and driving safety experts last week.As for prescription drugs, experts say doctors hardly ever warn against driving, even though some anxiety remedies in particular may double the risk of a crash.So what should consumers do before taking the wheel?"I'm a consumer, too, and even I find it very confusing," said John M. Weiler, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Iowa, whose tests in a state-of-the-art driving simulator found that a common cold remedy, diphenhydramine, can impair driving as much as alcohol."Unfortunately, there is no list" of drugs to avoid while driving, he said. "We are not there yet. We are not even close."Despite research showing some medications impair driving, little data exist from actual car crashes to prove how risky the drugs are in everyday use."Where are the crashes?" asked R. William Soller, director of science and technology at the drug industry's Consumer Healthcare Products Association. He said consumers already read warning labels and thus know not to drive under the influence of sedation-causing nonprescription antihistamines and other remedies.But the National Transportation Safety Board said medications are a seriously under-recognized threat because hardly any drivers are tested for legal drugs after a crash.Since 1987, the safety board cited more than 150 accidents -- car, truck, bus, boat, plane and train -- caused at least partially by over-the-counter or prescription drugs. Pilots killed are routinely tested for common medications, which the NTSB said caused or contributed to more than 72 fatal aviation accidents since 1987.After a 1998 Greyhound bus crash that killed seven, the board said diphenhydramine impaired the driver's alertness."We . . . believe that the numbers may be even higher," said NTSB Vice Chairman Carol J. Carmody.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates 100,000 crashes occur each year when drivers fall asleep, injuring 76,000 and killing 1,500. How many are due to sedation-causing drugs is not known.The NTSB wants drug regulators to develop stronger consumer warnings. Sweden, for instance, labels drugs that may impair driving with an easy-to-spot red triangle.The Food and Drug Administration has not decided, but FDA drug chief Robert J. Temple suggested it may be time to test the blood of drivers and their passengers after car crashes to determine which medications cause tragedy.While the safety officials debate, experts offer the following information:• Benzodiazepines, prescription-only anxiety medications, may be riskiest. These drugs, sold under brand names such as Ativan, may double the risk of a crash, said Washington State Patrol toxicologist Fiona J. Couper. Older drivers are particularly impaired. Risk is 13 times higher the first week of therapy, as patients become accustomed to the drugs' brain effects, said California psychopharmacologist James F. O'Hanlon.• Some driving simulations suggest 15 percent of people who use diphenhydramine, the most common ingredient in over-the-counter antihistamines, are likely to crash. Most do not report feeling drowsy first.• Nighttime use of nonprescription cold remedies containing chlorpheniramine causes a hangover-like daytime sleepiness, said Washington neuropsychologist Gary G. Kay.• The insomnia drug Sonata seems to wear off earlier than other sleep-inducing drugs, the FDA's Temple said.• Most nonprescription cold and allergy remedies cause drowsiness, but onset and duration for each may be different, Weiler said. In contrast, certain prescription-only antihistamines, such as Allegra, are non-sedating.Note: Government Considering Whether to Test for Common Legal Drugs After Crashes. Source: Washington Post (DC)Author: Lauran Neergaard, Associated PressPublished: Friday, November 23, 2001; Page A06 Copyright: 2001 The Washington Post Company Contact: letterstoed washpost.comWebsite: http://www.washingtonpost.comCannabisNews Drug Testing Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/drug_testing.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #8 posted by FoM on November 23, 2001 at 09:42:00 PT dddd & All We'll call you our Boo Gotcha Guy! LOL! I'm just kidding and I hope you know it. An illustration they used in church years ago is true in life so here it is. If a body is to be complete it needs a head and a neck to turn the head and even a little toe to balance the body. I'm sure others have heard this illustration in one way or the other but a healthy body has independent parts doing what they are supposed to do and that's what I think C News does. I stay close to Cannabis related news and others post links and make comments on what fires them up or inspires them and we function much better that way I think. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by dddd on November 23, 2001 at 09:28:34 PT the ddddark side ...thank you for the positives concerning my negatives bruce42......that kind of how I see it,,is that someone has to play the role of the bitter,old ,pessimistic Hippie,doomsayer,,,and come to think of it,,I like doing it.It's fun!,,,and there's no shortage of scary material nowdays to conjur up many a nightmare scenario..... .heck,,,it's better than being some wuss hopeful zombie!,,,,no,,just kiddin'...........and I think you have a good point there FoM,,when you live in the heart of a big city,,the traffic thing is much different than living in rural areas......makes me wanna move to the woods......cheers...dddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on November 23, 2001 at 09:07:57 PT dddd and everyone I thought I'd mention that I understand where dddd and the majority of people who post here are coming from. I live in the country and don't see the problems of city life but people like dddd and others who live in a city see things much differently because they are the first ones to see the effects of more control mechanism put in place. If everyone lived in no man's land then we wouldn't know what was happening in the cities. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by bruce42 on November 23, 2001 at 08:56:38 PT dddd Maybe you're more of a realist thatn a pessimist. Optimism and hope are very good. I think everyone here has a bit of that, but I think your ramblings into the dark side help keep things in perspective. After all, this is a team effort and we need checks and balances (like the ones supposedly in place in our own government!) to keep our thinking rational and to ensure we remain alert."Unfortunately, there is no list" of drugs to avoid while driving, he said. "We are not there yet. We are not even close."So reading the back of the box is too much effort. I have yet to find an allergy medication in pill or liquid form that does NOT have impared driving warnings. If a small group, say dozen people or so, got together and walked through your local OTC drug dealer mart they could compile a good list in an afternoon. I personally agree with stricter driving laws, after all driving IS a privilege. That is why it is licensed. BUT, I do have 4d's fear that the government would simply take things too far. Law and punishment is NOT a good substitute for common sense. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by dddd on November 23, 2001 at 01:48:04 PT RevOx Sorry,,,,,,I admit it,,I am one to be somewhat pessimistic.....I expect the worst,,and then I am pleasantly suprized,when I find that I was wrong,,,,,,,,but,,,then,if things turn out to be as bad as I expected,, , I get the satisfaction of being right...............I'm sorta kidding with this flippant logic,,,,,and I readily agree that there is always hope,,,,when everything seems super-bad, ,hope is all we really have,,and we need it.....Dont let my despondent ramblings diminish you,or anyone elses hope,,,I think people should look at the world, in a way that they can maintain their sanity....Optomism,and/or hope,,is a good and real thing...I have a tendency to entertain the dark side of hope,,,but I still admit,,that everything will probably end up being not that bad. ..cheers..............................dddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Rev0x on November 23, 2001 at 01:22:56 PT Damn dddd... are you always this pessimistic? :)Times are changing man, the wall is coming down in the East, it won't be too long before it tumbles down in the West. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by dddd on November 23, 2001 at 01:09:22 PT A harbinger of the ushering in of the new age.. ..of the policed states..........The Policed states of conciousness.....I predict,in the next few years,we will definitly see more "driving under the influence" laws,,and all the new hi-tech,mandatory blood sampling tests,that the drug testing industry is already waiting to pounce on,and subtly lobbying for.....but,ya gotta ask what comes after that.........and,,,all this will just be one aspect,of the new intrusions on our personal lives..There are already cell phone laws in some states,that reqiure "hands free" headsets,for using cell phones while driving,(I must reluctantly agree with some of these laws.Where I live,there is an abundance of idiots, in luxury vehicles,with cell phones at their ears,who do not have the intellectual facilities to drive safely,and normally,while talking on their phones.At least hands free phones allow a bit more concentration on the driving.)..... ....anyway,the intended point of my comment here,is that I believe the lawmaking machine,is going to wander into some strange new areas concerning driving laws....The concept of an "accident",will be more and more replaced,by the concept of a "criminal accident",when a blood test reveals traces of Nyquil,Sominex,weed,,,etc,The presence of such items will turn many "accidents",into crimes,and then,,,what's next....It's promising to become increasingly complex,as they attempt to measure exactly what "under the influence" means..Of course,many exceptions will be made for "legal" drugs..but if,and when,the terrorism of Marijuana prohibition finally ends,,then there we be a bunch of new "under the influence" laws,that will allow them to continue to lock up motorists,who have smoked pot in the last week or more,to be locked up,as if they were drunk. In light of the recent trashing of the Constitution,,there is not much that would be suprising."Terrorism",exsists in the mind of the "terrorees"....I think that the new US government regime,is far more terrifying than any taleban/al-quaeda/bin Laden terror....I keep hoping that I will wake up,and find that this absurd "war on terror",,was a surreal nightmare,,a very bad dream.........The only "good",part of being alive today,besides being alive;is that we have the unique,yet distastefully unpleasant priveledge of bearing witness to the decay and fall of American democracy...These are amazing times....indeedddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by p4me on November 23, 2001 at 00:01:19 PT: unrelated but important I just listened to Richard Cowan from pot-tv for Nov. 22. He was announcing some winners of the Cannabis Cup and mentioned that Vaportech won for second place in the product category. I went to the website at http://www.vaportechco.com and saw they won 1st place in 1998 and 1999 and second place in 2000. I know MJ.com does not allow a working link to a commercial site. I am not promoting Vaportech, it was just on pot-tv and I visited there website and found it informative. Now if I could find $140 plus shippiong and handling....Vote against all incumbents. The land of the free is now the land of pee. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment