In an effort to better understand the ways cannabis use impacts traffic safety, UC San Diego is conducting a virtual driving study that tests how driving high impacts the ability to respond to common challenges on the roadway. The study, the largest of its kind to date, is being conducted by the college’s Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research. And to make sure they’re attracting the right candidates, researchers are paying people to smoke weed for the study.
For Participants, It Pays To Drive High
If the idea of getting paid to smoke weed and get behind the wheel sounds good to you, you’re in luck. UC San Diego’s Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research is still recruiting participants for its study on cannabis and driving.
And for the study’s participants, it pays to drive high. The CMCR is giving participants $50 for an initial appointment. But when participants come back for their full day assessment, UCSD is prepared to drop an additional $180.
Those involved in the study will have their work cut out for them. Besides a long day of simulated driving, there’s no guarantee a participant will even get high.
Anyone participating in the study, however, will get to smoke a joint. The study’s design involves administering joints rolled on site and of varying THC concentrations. Some have none, while others are high-potency.
Researchers want to know how different cannabis doses impact a person’s ability to drive. Timing is another variable the study will examine. If a person consumes cannabis in the morning, how long will their high last? And at what point is a person no longer under the influence of cannabis?