analysis of DANGERS TO NON USERS: DRUGGED DRIVERS: (2.865788 secs.)
DANGERS TO NON USERS: DRUGGED DRIVERS
Drugged driving, also referred to as impaired driving, is driving
under the influence of alcohol, over-the-counter-medications,
prescription drugs, or illegal drugs. o The principal concern
regarding drugged driving is that driving under the influence
of any drug that acts on the brain could impair one's motor
skills, reaction time, and judgment. Drugged driving is a public
health concern because it puts not only the driver at risk, but
also passengers and others who share the road.142
o In Montana, where there has been an enormous increase in
"medical" marijuana cardholders, Narcotics Chief Mark Long told
a legislative committee in April 2010 that "DUI arrests involving
marijuana have skyrocketed, as have traffic fatalities where
marijuana was found in the system of one of the drivers."143
o In Washington State, where marijuana use was legalized for
recreational purposes, state police have noticed that significantly
more drivers being stopped are testing positive for 25
.......
marijuana. Toxicology reports show that in the first six months
of 2013, the percentage of driving cases where the driver tested
positive for delta-9-THC rose by 33 percent. From 2011 to 2012,
there was a 7.9 percent decrease. This increase is especially
notable because Washington had increased the legal limit of THC
in the blood. 144
o The Las Vegas, Nevada Metropolitan Police Department reports
that they have a large problem with people using marijuana and
driving, and that the problem is getting worse. During the last
three years, the Department's forensics lab screened 4,500 blood
samples for marijuana, with the bulk of those being impaired
drivers. Department statistics show that if police were able to
test each impaired driver involved in a fatal crash today, one
in ten would likely test positive for marijuana. "If it continues
on this path, in the next five or six years, we could see marijuana
and other non-alcoholic drugs overtake our DUI problems with
alcohol," Sergeant Todd Raybuck of the Department's Traffic
Bureau said. Statewide records from 2002 to 2012 revealed that
45 percent of drivers who were impaired by drugs had marijuana
in their system.145
o In 2012 there were 10.3 million persons aged 12 and older who
reported driving under the influence of illicit drugs during the
past year. The rate was highest among young adults aged 18 to
25.146
o Drugs that may affect driving were detected in one of every
seven weekend nighttime drivers in California during the summer
of 2012. In the first California statewide roadside survey of
alcohol and drug use by drivers, 14 percent of drivers tested
positive for drugs and 7.4 percent of drivers tested positive
for alcohol, and just as many as tested positive for marijuana
as alcohol. 147 o Since 2000, Liberty Mutual Insurance and
Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) have been conducting
a study of teens driving under the influence. o The 2013 survey
found that nearly one in four teens admits to driving under the
influence of marijuana, alcohol, and prescription drugs.
o They also found that driving under the influence of marijuana
(16 percent) is a greater threat than driving under the influence
of alcohol (15 percent). o There are 13 million driving-aged
teenagers on the road; 23 percent admit to driving under the
influence of alcohol or other drugs. That means that there may
be 3 million impaired teen drivers on the road. o Of the teens
responding to the survey, 25 percent felt that driving under the
influence of marijuana was not distracting; 23 percent felt that
driving under the influence of prescription drugs was not
distracting; and, 14 percent felt that driving under the influence
of alcohol not distracting. o What is even more astounding is
that 75 percent of teens who have driven under the influence of
marijuana believe it had no impact or even improves their driving
and 26
.......
38 percent of teens who admit to drinking and driving claim that
alcohol had no impact or even improved their driving.148 o The
2014 survey focused on safe driving, and although it focused
mainly on alcohol, they did find that there is a sharp disconnect
between what teens acknowledge as risky behavior and what they
actually admit to doing behind the wheel. Some of the teens (21
percent) defined a designated driver as someone basically sober
(only having had "a little" alcohol or other drugs), and 4 percent
described it as the most sober person in the group.149 o A 2013
study examining the data from the 2001 to 2011 Monitoring the
Future Surveys found that one out of every four (28 percent)
high school seniors either drove or rode with a driver who was
under the influence of alcohol or other illicit drugs, with the
percentage of high school seniors driving after smoking marijuana
almost three times greater than alcohol impaired drivers. Driving
after drinking has declined in recent years but driving after
using marijuana has increased.150 o According to researchers
at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, the
prevalence of non-alcoholic drugs detected in fatally injured
drivers in the U.S. has been steadily rising and has tripled
between 1999 and 2010 for drivers who tested positive for
marijuana. Drugs combined with alcohol created an even greater
risk for driving fatalities. Joanne Brady, a PhD candidate in
epidemiology and lead author of the study, noted that "the marked
increase in its prevalence as reported in the present study is
likely germane to the growing decriminalization of marijuana.
Although each of these states has laws that prohibit driving
under the influence of marijuana, it is still conceivable that
its decriminalization may result in increases in crashes involving
marijuana."151
o A study in the British Medical Journal on the consequences
of cannabis impaired driving found that drivers who consume
cannabis within three hours of driving are nearly twice as likely
to cause a vehicle collision as those who are not under the
influence of drugs or alcohol.152 o Researchers at the Pacific
Institute for Research and Evaluation in Maryland studied a
government data base on traffic fatalities and examined the data
from 44,000 drivers involved in single-vehicle crashes who died
between 1999 and 2009. They found that 24.9 percent of the drivers
tested positive for drugs and 37 percent had blood-alcohol levels
in excess of .08, the legal limit. The study is one of the first
to show the prevalence of drug use among fatally injured drivers.
Among the drivers who tested positive for drugs, 22 percent were
positive for marijuana, 22 percent for stimulants, and 9 percent
for narcotics.153
o In a study of seriously injured drivers admitted to a Maryland
Level-1 shock-trauma center, 65.7 percent were found to have
positive toxicology results for alcohol and/or drugs. Almost
51 percent of the total tested positive for illegal drugs. A
total of 26.9 percent of the drivers tested positive for
marijuana.154
27
.......
o The percentage of fatally injured drivers testing positive
for drugs increased over the last five years according to data
from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
In 2009, 33 percent of the 12,055 drivers fatally injured in
motor vehicle crashes with known test results tested positive
for at least one drug compared to 28 percent in 2005. In 2009,
marijuana was the most prevalent drug found in this population
' approximately 28 percent of fatally injured drivers who tested
positive tested positive for marijuana.155
o Recognizing that drugged driving is a serious health and
safety issue, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana
Laws (NORML) has called for a science-based educational campaign
targeting drugged driving behavior. In January of 2008, Deputy
Director Paul Armentano released a report titled, Cannabis and
Driving, noting that motorists should be discouraged from driving
if they have recently smoked cannabis and should never operate
a motor vehicle after having consumed both marijuana and alcohol.
The report also calls for the development of roadside,
cannabis-sensitive technology to better assist law enforcement
in identifying drivers who may be under the influence of pot.156
o In a 2007 National Roadside Survey of alcohol and drug use
by drivers, a random sample of weekend nighttime drivers across
the United States found that 16.3 percent of the drivers tested
positive for drugs, compared to 2.2 percent of drivers with blood
alcohol concentrations at or above the legal limit. Drugs were
present more than 7 times as frequently as alcohol.157
o According to a NIDA funded study, a large number of American
adolescents are putting themselves and others at great risk by
driving under the influence of illicit drugs or alcohol. In 2006,
30 percent of high school seniors reported driving after drinking
heavily or using drugs, or riding in a car whose driver had been
drinking heavily or using drugs, as least once in the prior two
weeks. Dr. Patrick O'Malley, lead author of the study, observed
that "Driving under the influence is not an alcohol-only problem.
In 2006, 13 percent of seniors said they drove after using
marijuana while ten percent drove after having five or more
drinks." "Vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death among
those aged 15 to 20," added Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of NIDA.
"Combining the lack of driving experience among teens with the
use of marijuana and/or other substances that impair cognitive
and motor abilities can be a deadly combination." 158
o A June 2007 toxicology study conducted at the University of
Maryland's Shock-Trauma Unit in Baltimore found that over 26
percent of injured drivers tested positive for marijuana. In an
earlier study, the U.S. National Survey on Drug Use and Health
estimated that 10.6 million Americans had driven a motor vehicle
under the influence of drugs during the previous year. 159
o A study of over 3000 fatally-injured drivers in Australia
showed that when marijuana was present in the blood of the driver
they were much more likely to be at fault for the accident. And
the higher the THC concentration, the more likely they were to
be culpable.160
28
.......
o NHTSA has found that marijuana significantly impairs one's
ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. According to its
report, "[e]pidemiology data from road traffic arrests and
fatalities indicate that after alcohol, marijuana is the most
frequently detected psychoactive substance among driving
populations." Problems reported include: decreased car handling
performance, inability to maintain headway, impaired time and
distance estimation, increased reaction times, sleepiness, lack
of motor coordination, and impaired sustained vigilance.161
summary: drug_related = 100%, drugwar_propaganda = 100%
I thought the text was interesting because of these details:
analysis of article text
propaganda analysis
asserted: $drug_related at 100% ($legalization $prohibition_agency $illegal_drugs $drug_ngo $prohibitionist $drug_reformer)
asserted: $drugwar_propaganda at 100% ($propaganda_theme2 $propaganda_theme3 $propaganda_theme5 $propaganda_theme7 $propaganda_theme4)
asserted: $propaganda_theme2 at 100% ("deadly" "fatalities" "fatal" "fatally" "fatally-injured" "threat" "death" "DANGERS" "impaired" "impair" "impairs" "problem" "problems" "DRUGGED DRIVERS" "accidents" "accident" "driving under the influence" "health and safety"), 50 hits
asserted: $propaganda_theme3 at 75% ("American" "Americans" "public health"), 4 hits
asserted: $use_is_abuse at 100% ("drug use" "using drugs" "marijuana use" "alcohol and drug use"), 9 hits
asserted: $propaganda_theme4 at 100% ($use_is_abuse)
asserted: $propaganda_theme5 at 100% ("teenagers" "teens" "teen" "adolescents"), 13 hits
asserted: $propaganda_theme7 at 100% ("legalized" "decriminalization" "marijuana use was legalized" $legalization), 4 hits
asserted: $illegal_drugs at 100% ($cannabis $narcotic $various_illegal_drugs)
asserted: $drugs at 95% ($various_drugs)
asserted: $drug_ngo at 100% ($drug_reform_ngo)
asserted: $drug_law at 100% ("Marijuana Laws"), 1 hits
asserted: $drug_reformer at 100% ($paul_armentano)
asserted: $drug_reform_ngo at 100% ($norml)
asserted: $norml at 100% ("National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws" "NORML" $paul_armentano), 2 hits
asserted: $paul_armentano at 100% ("Paul Armentano" "Armentano"), 2 hits
asserted: $prohibitionist at 80% ($government_prohib)
asserted: $government_prohib at 80% ("Nora Volkow" "Volkow"), 2 hits
asserted: $prohibition_agency at 55% ("police" "law enforcement" "NIDA"), 7 hits
asserted: $legalization at 100% ("decriminalization of marijuana" "decriminalization" "legalized"), 4 hits
asserted: $chemicals at 100% ($alcohol)
asserted: $plants at 100% ($cannabis)
asserted: $intoxicant at 100% ($cannabis)
asserted: $depressant_intoxicant at 100% ($alcohol)
asserted: $medical_cannabis at 90% (""medical" marijuana" ""medical"" "medical" marijuana" "marijuana."151 o A study in the British Medical"), 4 hits
asserted: $narcotic at 100% ("Narcotics"), 2 hits
asserted: $alcohol at 100% ("alcoholic" "alcohol" "alcohol-only" "been drinking"), 30 hits
asserted: $cannabis at 100% ("marijuana" "cannabis" "cannabis-sensitive" "pot" "THC" $medical_cannabis), 42 hits
asserted: $various_drugs at 95% ("DRUGGED" "drugs" "drug"), 65 hits
asserted: $various_illegal_drugs at 100% ("illicit drugs" "illegal drugs" "psychoactive" "alcohol and drug" "prescription drugs"), 11 hits
asserted: $youth at 100% ($propaganda_theme5)
asserted: $school at 100% ("school" "University"), 6 hits
Sentence-By-Sentence Analysis
(1) DANGERS TO NON USERS: DRUGGED DRIVERS Drugged driving, also referred to as impaired driving, is driving under the influence of alcohol, over-the-counter-medications, prescription drugs, or illegal drugs. o The principal concern regarding drugged driving is that driving under the influence of any drug that acts on the brain could impair one's motor skills, reaction time, and judgment .
re: "DANGERS", "impaired", "impair", "DRUGGED DRIVERS", "driving under the influence" -
Prohibition propaganda rarely misses an opportunity to link
crime, violence, and insanity with "drugs". The propagandist insinuates
that prohibited drugs cause evil, and if it weren't for "drugs"
bad things would not exist.
(Madness Crime Violence Illness (propaganda theme 2) )
(7) Department statistics show that if police were able to test each impaired driver involved in a fatal crash today, one in ten would likely test positive for marijuana .
re: "fatal", "impaired" -
Prohibitionist propaganda claims that horrible dangers
are caused by "drugs."
(Madness Crime Violence Illness (propaganda theme 2) )
(9) Statewide records from 2002 to 2012 revealed that 45 percent of drivers who were impaired by drugs had marijuana in their system.145 o In 2012 there were 10.3 million persons aged 12 and older who reported driving under the influence of illicit drugs during the past year .
re: "impaired", "driving under the influence" -
Drugs, claim the prohibitionist, cause insanity,
violence, and terrible sickness.
(Madness Crime Violence Illness (propaganda theme 2) )
(14) Driving after drinking has declined in recent years but driving after using marijuana has increased.150 o According to researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, the prevalence of non-alcoholic drugs detected in fatally injured drivers in the U.S. has been steadily rising and has tripled between 1999 and 2010 for drivers who tested positive for marijuana .
re: "fatally" -
The rhetoric of prohibition asserts that insanity, crime, and
violence are caused by drugs, or are controlled by prohibition.
(Madness Crime Violence Illness (propaganda theme 2) )
re: "Public Health" -
"Engels undoubtedly, in his own as well as in Marx's name,
suggests to the leader of the German workers' party that the
word 'state' be struck out of the programme and replaced by the
word 'community'." -- Lenin, 1917
(Survival of Society (propaganda theme 3) )
(15) Drugs combined with alcohol created an even greater risk for driving fatalities .
re: "fatalities" -
Drugs, scream prohibitionists, cause all bad things in life: crime,
violence, insanity, etc. If not for prohibition (i.e., jailing drug
users), then criminality, violence and psychotic behavior would explode
upon the land, the prohibitionist assures us.
(Madness Crime Violence Illness (propaganda theme 2) )
(16) Joanne Brady, a PhD candidate in epidemiology and lead author of the study, noted that "the marked increase in its prevalence as reported in the present study is likely germane to the growing decriminalization of marijuana .
re: "decriminalization" -
The ancient and first commandment (Mat 22:38, Mark 12:28) is,
"Thou shall not legalize the herb." (Gen 1:29-30)
To be seen of men (Mat 23:5),
thou shalt make thy righteousness (Isa 64:6)
of thine holy rulers (1Chron 21:1, Mat 4:8, Luke 4:5, 1Jn 2:18)
shine forth over the wickedness of marijuana! Pharmakeia evil-doers
(that is to say, marijuana users -
sorcerers and witches all; Gal 5:20,Rev 21:8,22:15),
shall be arrested (Luke 12:11), scourged (Mark 15:15, John 19:1),
imprisoned (Mat 25:36), and enslaved (1Tim 1:10, Rev 18:13),
for ever and ever (Rev 19:3).
For to punish marijuana users is like unto
the Righteousness of the Saints. (Rev 19:8)
Amen!
(Total Prohibition or Access (propaganda theme 7) )
(19) The study is one of the first to show the prevalence of drug use among fatally injured drivers .
re: "fatally" -
Drugs, the prohibitionist explains, are a wicked bane on modern man.
If not for the noble drug war (i.e. jailing drug users), exclaims
the propagandist, then people will run amok, and violence, death, psychosis,
and plague shall cover the land.
(Madness Crime Violence Illness (propaganda theme 2) )
re: "drug use" -
Prohibitionists try to hammer in the idea that 'all use is abuse.'
The rhetoric of prohibition needs to deny that many people
can use currently illegal drugs without abusing them.
(Use is Abuse (propaganda theme 4) )
(22) A total of 26.9 percent of the drivers tested positive for marijuana.154 27 ....... o The percentage of fatally injured drivers testing positive for drugs increased over the last five years according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) .
re: "fatally" -
Prohibitionists claim use of currently illegal drugs causes crime, death, illness,
lunacy, mania, melancholy, and all means of sin and degradation.
(Madness Crime Violence Illness (propaganda theme 2) )
(23) In 2009, 33 percent of the 12,055 drivers fatally injured in motor vehicle crashes with known test results tested positive for at least one drug compared to 28 percent in 2005 .
re: "fatally" -
It is prohibition, claim prohibitionists, that saves people from drug crazed,
whacked out, high flying drug users.
(Madness Crime Violence Illness (propaganda theme 2) )
(27) Drugs were present more than 7 times as frequently as alcohol.157 o According to a NIDA funded study, a large number of American adolescents are putting themselves and others at great risk by driving under the influence of illicit drugs or alcohol .
re: "driving under the influence" -
drug war rhetoric transforms drugs users into scapegoats --
(Richard L Miller, Drug Warriors and their Prey)
(Madness Crime Violence Illness (propaganda theme 2) )
re: "American" -
O'Brien: "The heretic, the enemy of society, will always be there,
so that he can be defeated and humiliated over again." (Orwell, 1984)
(Survival of Society (propaganda theme 3) )
re: "adolescents" -
Prohibitionists play on parental fears by exaggerating the dangers
to children of drugs. Adults must be jailed (reason prohibitionists),
because kids might be corrupted with drugs.
(Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) )
re: "NIDA" -
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Great men are almost always bad men."
-- Lord Acton
(28) In 2006, 30 percent of high school seniors reported driving after drinking heavily or using drugs, or riding in a car whose driver had been drinking heavily or using drugs, as least once in the prior two weeks .
re: "using drugs" -
Prohibitionist propagandists repeatedly assert that "use is abuse."
Details about "using" as opposed to "abusing" drugs are ignored.
(Use is Abuse (propaganda theme 4) )
(30) Patrick O'Malley, lead author of the study, observed that "Driving under the influence is not an alcohol-only problem .
re: "problem", "Driving under the influence" -
Prohibitionists claim use of currently illegal drugs causes crime, death, illness,
lunacy, mania, melancholy, and all means of sin and degradation.
(Madness Crime Violence Illness (propaganda theme 2) )
(32) "Vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death among those aged 15 to 20," added Dr .
re: "death", "accidents" -
Prohibitionists claim use of currently illegal drugs causes crime, death, illness,
lunacy, mania, melancholy, and all means of sin and degradation.
(Madness Crime Violence Illness (propaganda theme 2) )
(33) Nora Volkow, Director of NIDA .
re: "NIDA" -
Power is sweet; it is a drug, the desire for which increases with a habit.
-- Bertrand Russell
(34) "Combining the lack of driving experience among teens with the use of marijuana and/or other substances that impair cognitive and motor abilities can be a deadly combination." 158 o A June 2007 toxicology study conducted at the University of Maryland's Shock-Trauma Unit in Baltimore found that over 26 percent of injured drivers tested positive for marijuana .
re: "deadly", "impair" -
It is prohibition, claim prohibitionists, that saves people from drug crazed,
whacked out, high flying drug users.
(Madness Crime Violence Illness (propaganda theme 2) )
re: "teens" -
"Nothing can so excite an adult population as can anything which
appears to threaten their own children." [W.White,1979]
(Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) )
(36) National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimated that 10.6 million Americans had driven a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs during the previous year. 159 o A study of over 3000 fatally-injured drivers in Australia showed that when marijuana was present in the blood of the driver they were much more likely to be at fault for the accident .
re: "fatally-injured", "accident" -
It is prohibition, claim prohibitionists, that saves people from drug crazed,
whacked out, high flying drug users.
(Madness Crime Violence Illness (propaganda theme 2) )
re: "Americans" -
The health of the "community" (read: government) is assured, prohibitionists
explain, because drug users are punished. Jailing drug users is thus
painted as upholding society.
(Survival of Society (propaganda theme 3) )
re: "Drug Use" -
"This strategy equates the use and abuse of drugs and implies that
it is impossible to use the particular drug or drugs in question
without physical, mental, and moral deterioration." [W.White,1979]
(Use is Abuse (propaganda theme 4) )
(38) According to its report, "[e]pidemiology data from road traffic arrests and fatalities indicate that after alcohol, marijuana is the most frequently detected psychoactive substance among driving populations."
re: "fatalities" -
Prohibition propaganda rarely misses an opportunity to link
crime, violence, and insanity with "drugs". The propagandist insinuates
that prohibited drugs cause evil, and if it weren't for "drugs"
bad things would not exist.
(Madness Crime Violence Illness (propaganda theme 2) )
MAPInc Bookmarks:
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis - Medicinal - United States)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
|
(video)
EXP - explicit prohibition propaganda (explicit_propaganda)
GRP - hated group (propaganda_theme1)
MAD - madness, violence, illness (propaganda_theme2)
SOC - survival of society (propaganda_theme3)
USE - gateway, use is abuse (propaganda_theme4)
KID - children (propaganda_theme5)
WAR - demonize, war, epidemic (propaganda_theme6)
TOT - total prohibition (propaganda_theme7)
DIS - dissent opposed (propaganda_theme8)
