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Abstract
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AIMS: Driving licence legislation defines three forms of cannabis use, one-time, occasional, and regular use, each resulting in different legal consequences. §2 of the Road Traffic Act (StVG) regulates the fitness to drive and in connection with §46 of the driving licence regulations (FeV), license holders can be disqualified if regular cannabis use has been proved. This study aims to present and critically discuss the number of regular cannabis users in road traffic in the catchment area of the institution Legal Medicine Greifswald.
METHODS: 4,434 blood samples of drivers suspected of drug abuse, legally ordered by the police between 2007 and 2012, were analysed and evaluated. Analyses for cannabinoids were conducted with CEDIA-immunoassays on a Microgenics MGC-240 (qualitative) and on a PerkinElmer Clarus 600 GC-MS-system (quantitative). The concentration of the non psychoactive metabolite 11-nor-9-carboxy-delta9-THC was used to evaluate regular cannabis use.
RESULTS: 3,033 blood serum samples contained cannabinoids. In 2,297 samples (76%), the THC-contents reached or exceeded 1 ng/ml, the limit value which incurs penalties under §24a StVG. Within this group, the blood samples of 456 drivers revealed a concentration of 11-nor- 9-carboxy-delta9-THC of ≥ 150 ng/ml. This illustrates that approximately 20% of the drivers punished for offences under §24a StVG have to be considered as regular cannabis users. Particularly striking is that during the investigation period a yearly increase in the number of regular cannabis users in road traffic of almost 10% has been observed.
CONCLUSION: The driving licensing authorities, particularly in the catchment area of Greifswald, should evaluate whether the currently practised medical assessment for cannabis using drivers fits the criteria for the fitness to drive and is conducted only by appropriate assessors. §11 and §14 FeV would legitimate such medical assessments. The assessment criteria for the type of cannabis use still deserve further dissemination and they need to be critically applied by driving licensing authorities as well as by medical consultants.
Language: de |