Testing Positive for Marijuana Doesn't Mean You're High

For the last time, it doesn’t mean that. Unlike other drugs, marijuana remains detectable in urine for weeks after use. This well-known fact continues to elude reporters, resulting in alarming yet totally meaningless headlines such as this:

Sheriff: Driver in ATV fatality used marijuana

CARROLLTON – Carroll County Sheriff Dale Williams revealed Monday that Dennis Garrison, 37, of Alliance tested positive for marijuana on the day his 6-year-old nephew was killed while riding an ATV with his uncle. [Times-Reporter]

Again and again, we're told about people testing positive for marijuana after accidents with no evidence whatsoever that anyone was high at the time of the accident. In this case, there's even evidence to the contrary:

The deputy at the accident scene reported that Dennis showed no obvious signs of being under the influence.

Of course, this quite instructive fact is buried near the bottom of the story, while the completely meaningless urine test results are reported in the headline. It is simply bad reporting to link marijuana use to a horrible tragedy without noting that such use could likely have taken place weeks before the accident even occurred.

After all, you would never see this:

Sheriff: Driver in ATV fatality drank alcohol days before accident

CARROLLTON – Carroll County Sheriff Dale Williams revealed Monday that Dennis Garrison, 37, of Alliance drank beer 5 days before his 6-year-old nephew was killed while riding an ATV with him.

The fact here is that a young child was killed. To falsely attribute his death to irrelevant factors is not only shameful and dishonest, but also interferes with the important process of learning from the tragedy.

Many of the most passionate appeals against marijuana use emerge from scenarios such as this in which the drug's role is, in fact, dubious or non-existent. Imagine the good that could be accomplished if well-meaning people stopped grasping at straws and finally put marijuana in perspective.