For the estimated three million new teen drivers each year¹, getting a license is the easy part. Earning the keys and trust your parent or guardian is the bigger challenge. You can keep that trust by making responsible decisions, especially behind the wheel.

Unfortunately, many young drivers don’t understand the risks associated with marijuana use. In fact, driving-age teens are nearly four times more likely to use marijuana than younger adolescents. To make matters worse, too many teen drivers don’t understand the risks associated with marijuana and driving. Approximately one in six high school seniors in the U.S. report driving under the influence of marijuana.

Marijuana is addictive and can lead to a host of health, social and behavioral problems at a crucial time in a young person’s life. Teens using marijuana are also more likely to take risks, such as driving while high or riding with someone who is driving under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs. Research shows that smoking pot affects concentration, perception, coordination and reaction time, many of the skills required for safe driving – and these effects can last up to 24 hours.

Combining drug use with teens’ inexperience and risk-taking behavior can lead to disaster on the road. Nearly one in five 16-year-old drivers is involved in a collision in their first year of driving. And crashes are the leading cause of death for young people age 15-20, causing roughly one-third of fatalities.

Making a wrong turn at this important crossroads in your life could have deadly consequences. In 2001, an estimated 38,000 high school seniors in the U.S. crashed after driving under the influence of marijuana and 46,000 crashed after driving under the influence of alcohol.

For more information on marijuana and staying drug-free, click here.

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Freevibe visitors speak out about drugged driving

achase19 (8/29/2003 1:53:24 AM)
hey I’m 15 years old. me and my boyfriend have been smoking weed and doing acid for about 2 years about a month ago we both got busted at his house. since then we’ve done it again but then about a week ago we were driving in his car and he was driving. we were both stoned. well he went through a red light and was kill. i just broke my leg and got some cuts. After that happened I made a promise to myself that I would never do anything again and I’ve been clean since. so my anti-drug is my life. More >>

Tori (9/9/2003 6:03:43 PM)
My best-friends father does drugs. I have found his pipe and open packs of Marijuana hidden under his couch. I wasn't going through his things i was looking for the remote, but when i found it i could not believe what i saw. I had been in a car with him and he had been driving really fast. I thought that he was just in a hurry, but i don't know he could have been high. I was really scared when i found out that he did drugs. I knew that drugs change the way you think, but i was scared for my friend. More >>

regretful (9/13/2003 7:22:52 PM)
I have a twin sister. She is my life. We did some crank a while back. Stayed out all night long. When we came down, it was horrible. She was driving us back home, and came within an inch of slamming into a telephone pole because she fell asleep at the wheel. I jerked the car back on the road and screamed to wake her up. Then and there we both decided that we were not going to mess with the s* again. We are 21 years old and still have a lot of living to do. Speed is highly addictive and will kill you. More >>

1. Unpublished estimate derived from U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics 2001 (Table DL-20: Distribution of Licensed Drivers – 2001 by Sex and Percentage in Each Age Group and Relation to Population).