Four years after the Bay State’s first recreational pot shops opened, the state is adding weed education to its driving school curriculum.
Massachusetts is the first recreational-use cannabis state to adopt, “Shifting Gears: the Blunt Truth about Marijuana and Driving,” a AAA curriculum that teaches teens about the risks of cannabis-impaired driving.
The educational video goes over how THC — the active chemical in marijuana — impacts cognition, vision, reaction time, and perception of time and distance.
“Law enforcement across Massachusetts fully supports education and awareness as a preventative measure to enhance public safety, especially amongst our most vulnerable drivers,” said Newton Police Chief John Carmichael.
“This comprehensive driver’s education curriculum will teach student drivers the risks associated with impaired driving with an added emphasis on how cannabis may cause a diminished capacity to operate their vehicle safely,” he added.
This is the first generation of driver education students to be licensed since cannabis became legal in Massachusetts, and AAA research shows that impaired driving crashes may increase and continue to injure and kill motorists and their passengers.
The Shifting Gears, cannabis-impaired driving curriculum will be taught to about 50,000 young drivers per year in more than 460 Massachusetts driving school sites.
“Research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety sheds light on the fact that in legalizing…
