June 1980 Car and Driver magazine
Puff, the Dangerous Driver
... "The more dope I smoked, the better I drove"... Don Sherman, Car and Driver writer, June 1980.
Sherman's statement was based upon scientific measurement, not superstition, religious fanaticism, or other biased opinion. He also generally commented that he had trouble staying awake after smoking pot, except when he was driving the car with enthusiasm.
(((NOTE: a web browser like Opera that can zoom images larger and smaller is best for viewing this old
microfiched article. If you run across the original magazine, post the article to the web in color! I recently decided to
re-upload page images in high resolution sizes for better readability - some of them are over 1 meg. each in size. Thanks to the Auburn University library for the microfiche and their xerox microfiche copier. I scanned copies of the microfiche into my computer which were then posted to the web.)))
NOTE: Though a bit "tongue in cheek" in the image department, the article has real substance and value since it ultimately is really scientific, and extremely conservative as far as what the journalists' conclusions are, or may we say, what their postures taken on the subject are. The interview with Dr. Donelson is the most informative section, yet still extremely biased in the conservative direction. The presumption or assumption that smoking marijuana before driving is totally unacceptable contradicts the scientific results from the article almost perfectly.
Notice that between runs, the journalists sit and smoke pot in "the bus". "Getting on the bus" was what the '60's was all about according to Ken Keasey.
My main complaint is that there is no discussion in the article of why one or two feel so tired and lethargic after smoking pot. Were they drinking lots and lots of coffee? Were they all over-working? Regular pot smokers, generally speaking, don't feel overly sleepy or tired from pot. In fact, some people say that if they smoke pot only occasionally, it keeps them awake rather than helping them to sleep. This "tiredness" aspect of pot has never been analyzed properly. Pot is not an automatic "knock-out" drug. It is not a narcotic like morphine, or Seconol. Yet, it does help some people to rest, sleep, and heal. Rest without marijuana, is also healing as all doctors used to tell us.My opinion is that if a person feels very tired after using marijuana, the marijuana has merely revealed the person's true physiological needs. The tiredness just means the smoker was fatigued, but didn't realize it. Pot opens the channels to tell us, "Hey, you're tired. Take a nap. Then drive."
Spaced out, or more aware? Pot, for most people, tends to put a person more into the momentary senses, the now, rather than into thinking about the past or the future. This might help with driving or other interesting detail work.
One Person's Experiences with Driving and Marijuana - Relation to Road Fatigue and Tendency toward Accidentally Falling Asleep at the Wheel:
1973-1989 In the 1 and 1/2 decades between 1973, the year I stopped using pot in high school 'cause there wasn't any more, and 1989, the year I really started smoking it again, I had a constant problem of almost falling asleep at the wheel on every long trip I took. In order to avoid killing myself, I tried coffee, cigars, loud music, cold air, short walks, and nothing really helped. I was still a threat to myself and every other person on the road. But hey, I didn't use pot at all during this dangerous period! I was obeying the law, but I was dangerous due to my chronically fatigued state of body. Luckily, I did not have any wrecks during this period of abstaining from pot. During these years, I was often unable to sleep at all at night, and would take naps all day long. I often found myself reading all night, and sleeping all day. It was always very difficult for me to do any regular scheduled activity during the daylight hours due to my constant fatigue. (Actually, to be precise, my insomnia period really began in 1975, not 1973. But I had stopped pot use two years previous in 1973.)
In the years since 1989, I have not had that problem for some reason. I no longer have insomnia, so I'm no longer tired behind the wheel of a car. Therefore, I'm safer since I'm better rested. Could it be that I no longer push myself in driving into the wee hours of the morning? It's true that I sleep at night now, and rarely in the daytime. I try to avoid all-night marathons. Whether this is due to pot restoring my circadian rhythms, or due to natural aging changes, I have no idea. But with pot, I'm never an insomniac, and also never have trouble during long drives of nodding off. If I feel dangerously sleepy now, I tend to pull over now and rest for the night instead of plunging further and further into fatigue and late-night driving.
F.G. SMITH - Idaho
Car and Driver article:
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Page 9 (Dr. Dr. Alan C. Donelson comments)