⚠️ Cannabis Driving Impairment Detection Simulator

Cannabis Use — THC Enters the Bloodstream

Placeholder lead: THC absorbs quickly, blood level spikes within minutes of use.

• ~10 min: Time to peak THC (placeholder, smoked route)
• 10–35%: Bioavailability (placeholder, smoked route)
• Seconds: Onset of effects (placeholder, subjective)
• ~1 hr: Half-life (initial) (placeholder, distribution phase)

Placeholder heading — absorption and distribution

Placeholder body text: THC is lipophilic, absorbs fast, redistributes into fat.

Driving-Relevant Skills Decline at Peak THC

Placeholder lead: reaction time, divided attention, and lane tracking all worsen.

• ~20%: Reaction time slowdown (placeholder, near peak)
• Notable: Lane deviation increase (placeholder, simulator studies)
• Impaired: Divided attention (placeholder, dual-task cost)
• 1–4 hr: Impairment window (placeholder, typical)

Placeholder heading — which skills degrade

Placeholder body text: attention splitting and tracking tasks suffer most.

Blood Level No Longer Predicts Impairment Well

Placeholder lead: unlike BAC, THC level and actual impairment drift apart.

• Weak: THC-impairment correlation (placeholder, post-peak)
• Strong: Alcohol correlation (placeholder, tight BAC link)
• Variable: Tolerance effect (placeholder, frequent users)
• High: Individual variability (placeholder, metabolism)

Placeholder heading — why the link breaks down

Placeholder body text: fat storage and tolerance decouple level from effect.

THC Detectable Long After Impairment Ends

Placeholder lead: metabolites linger in blood and urine for days to weeks.

• ~4–8 hr: Impairment resolves (placeholder, typical)
• Days: Blood detection window (placeholder, frequent users longer)
• Weeks: Urine detection window (placeholder, frequent users)
• Hours: Alcohol detection window (placeholder, matches impairment)

Placeholder heading — the long metabolite tail

Placeholder body text: THC-COOH persists in fat, released slowly over time.

Why This Complicates Impaired-Driving Law

Placeholder lead: a positive THC test does not confirm current impairment.

• Elevated: False-positive risk (placeholder, post-use testing)
• Contested: Legal per-se limits (placeholder, jurisdictions vary)
• Limited: Field sobriety value (placeholder, cannabis-specific)
• Reliable: Alcohol BAC standard (placeholder, established link)

Placeholder heading — policy implications

Placeholder body text: testing reform and behavioral measures are being explored.

Placeholder highlight: detection is not the same as impairment.