High THC levels do not imply marijuana impairment, according to federal study

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A federally-commissioned study shows that current impairment testing is completely wrong

For many years, cannabis, and specifically tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), has been highly criticized by opponents, who have indicated that people suffer a deterioration of their organism. According to a federally funded study, though, this thinking is incorrect, and it has been said that THC consumption is not really a predictor of that fact.

The research, which was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), involved a total of 20 people who ate or vaporized cannabis with varying levels of THC. The idea of this was to then be able to analyze their cognitive behavior and sobriety levels through various basic field tests. Even though the groups that received a 5mg dose of THC had some negative impact, the researchers have made it more than clear that the “THC levels in the biofluids were not reliable indicators of marijuana intoxication for the study participants.”

Clearly, some of the laws in several states, which do not allow people to drive a vehicle when they have a certain amount of THC in their blood, have been called into question. “These important findings come as no surprise,” said NORML deputy director Paul Armentano. “Although a handful of states impose per se THC thresholds as part of their traffic safety laws, there is no science to show that these arbitrary limits are reliable predictors of recent cannabis exposure or impairment.”

After analyzing toxicology tests on blood, urine and oral fluids, it was determined that there was no association with measures of cognitive or psychomotor impairment in the individual.
These results undoubtedly go against many of the thoughts of people who are not in favor of the consumption of these substances. There have already been several investigations and studies that have had congruence in these same results, so this type of thinking should be analyzed more critically.