(2/28/2012)CBS News HealthPop

By Ryan Jaslow

The survey of 2,300 eleventh and twelfth graders - by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) - found more than one-third of teens who have driven after using marijuana say the drug doesn't distract them from driving. What's more, one in five teens admitted to driving high.

How does that compare with teen rates of drunk driving? The survey found 13 percent of teens said they had got behind the wheel after drinking, while 19 percent did not consider drinking a major distraction.

"Marijuana affects memory, judgment, and perception and can lead to poor decisions when a teen under the influence of this or other drugs gets behind the wheel of a car," Stephen Wallace, senior advisor for policy, research, and education at SADD, said in a written statement. "What keeps me up at night is that this data reflects a dangerous trend toward the acceptance of marijuana and other substances compared to our study of teens conducted just two years ago."

A 2009 survey from Liberty Mutual and SADD found 78 percent of teens considered smoking pot as "very" or "extremely" distracting to their driving.



Read the full CBS News Article: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57383975-10391704/disturbing-study-finds-19-percent-of-teens-drive-after-using-marijuana/

Keywords: Marijuana, Pot, Teens, Smoking After Driving