How Marijuana Affects Drivers - Research Paper Example

Running head: QUANTITATIVE SOCIAL RESEARCH PROJECT PROPOSAL of essay's assignment is due Part A The research question The research question asked in this proposal is how marijuana affects drivers. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the psychoactive chemical present in marijuana. The effect of THC is quite different from that of alcohol. Marijuana users are highly aware of their impairment because they feel "high", and to compensate for this some of them try to drive more cautiously. THC diminishes attention span and psychomotor skills. It decreases the ability of the user to perform tracking tasks because at high doses, the users show difficulty with steering and drive less accurately. Why/how this question is psychological/ sociological in nature The society is facing big problems from drivers who drive under the influence (DUI) of marijuana. Marijuana legalization is a big issue where society is supporting or arguing against it. When the driver smokes marijuana, the THC goes into the blood rapidly and the smoker remains high for an hour or so (Jones, Holmgren & Kugelberg, 2008, pp. 452-461). When the driver mixes marijuana with food it takes a long time for it to be digested and absorbed into the blood. Consequently, the user remains high for approximately twelve hours. Clearing the user's blood of THC takes one month. Additionally, marijuana has been ranked fourth after caffeine, alcohol and nicotine as the world's most widely used. Most people believe that the bad effects of marijuana outnumber its benefits. Background data and statistics from the traffic accident crash statistics tool According to the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF), 1.5 percent of drivers who were surveyed in the Road Safety Monitor of 2002 had used marijuana two hours prior to taking the wheel (Kelly, Darke & Ross, 2009, pp. 319-344). The survey discovered that young men are the most likely to drive after using marijuana and other illegal drugs. A third of those who admitted to driving after using marijuana had also been involved in drinking. A New York study released in March 2005 showed that 15 per cent of students in 10th to 13th grade who had a driver's license reported to have driven less than an hour after consuming two drinks or more (Bingham et al, 2007, pp. 38-52). Furthermore, 20 percent reported to have driven within an hour after using marijuana (Bingham et al, 2007, pp. 23-37). Limitations of the tool for answering your research question Time and level of study restraints played an important role when considering the scope of the research. These were two factors of particular importance when setting the parameters in regards to the breadth and depth of the work to be presented. For that reason, this study did not attempt to present all the researched material in detail but rather to provide a concise, yet thorough overview of the chosen material. The analysis of practical considerations such as economics or logistics or the discussion of opposing points of views was not taken up in this study. Part B Introduction and overview of the proposal While marijuana remains illegal, it is now classified with barbiturates and amphetamines rather than heroin. The advisory council responsible for recommending this change stressed that marijuana is undeniably harmful and was anxious that the drivers be informed of the dangers associated using it. While responding to recommendations made by a special committee on illegal drugs, the US government is not close to decriminalizing possession of marijuana. Drivers can be charged if impaired by marijuana. Criminal charges can be laid if a driver is high on marijuana. The likelihood of a crash when a driver is high is known to increase substantially depending on how much THC is in the blood. Proposed participants A study showed that marijuana raises the danger by 10 times of non-lymphoblastic leukemia in children of mothers who used marijuana just before or during pregnancy. Leukemia was not increased by other drugs such as alcohol or tobacco. This is a health problem where marijuana not only affects the mother but the children also by gaining the effects from their mothers. For people who have cardiovascular system (CVS) problems, the problems may increase from this point. Some clinicians report concern over the potential dangers of the large quantities of carbon monoxide in cannabis smoke. Marijuana causes high blood pressure and uses narrows blood vessels in a similar way to what is found in heart disease. Proposed instruments/materials Research methodology references the procedural rules for the evaluation of research claims and the validation of the knowledge gathered, while research design functions as the research blueprint. The determination of the research methodology is one of the more important challenges which confront researchers. Accordingly, given the importance of research methodology, this part of the paper shall both outline and justify the current research's selected methodological design. For the purposes of this research and given that both primary and secondary data are needed, three data collection methods will be used. Apart from the desk-based data collection method traditionally associated with secondary data collection, primary data will be collected through the archival records (attendance sheets), interviews with two traffic police officers, a survey of Traffic Accident Commission opinion, and the researcher's own observations. Selection of the research approach is a critically important decision. The research approach does not simply inform the research design but it gives the researcher the opportunity to critically consider how each of the various approaches may contribute to, or limit, his study, allow him/her to satisfy the articulated objectives and design an approach which best satisfies the research's requirements. Proposed design The data gathered shall be analyzed from both the qualitative and quantitative approaches. Within the context of social science research, both approaches must be used in order to arrive at an objective, measurable understanding of the phenomenon and a humanistic comprehension of its socio-environmental dimensions. While records and the effects of the corrective strategies on the twenty drivers under observation shall be qualitatively analyzed, the variables which influence driving under the influence of marijuana rates, both increase and decrease, shall be qualitatively analyzed as a strategy for uncovering the socio-environmental factors influencing these rates. In other words, both qualitative and quantitative data analysis approaches shall be used for the purposes of arriving at a more holistic understanding of the phenomenon. Proposed procedure As the above, albeit brief, review of the literature has tried to establish, educational scholars and researchers have, with near-unanimity, defined marijuana as one of the more severe of the problems currently confronting the number accidents on the roads. The exigencies of designing and implementing corrective strategies for the reduction and elimination of marijuana are incontrovertible and widely acknowledge. Selection of the research approach is a critically important decision. The research approach does not simply inform the research design but it gives the researcher the opportunity to critically consider how each of the various approaches may contribute to, or limit, his study, allow him/her to satisfy the articulated objectives and design an approach which best satisfies the research's requirements. The research approach embraces the quantitative versus the qualitative. This approach is commonly perceived of as referring to polar opposites, in the sense that a research is either quantitative or qualitative. Ethical issues A research is valid only if it actually studies what it set out to study and only if the findings are verifiable. There are three methods for establishing validity. Construct validity entails the establishment of accurate operational measurements for the research's core concept. This is done by establishing a chain of evidence throughout the data collection process by verifying key information through the use of multiple sources of information and by presented informants with a draft of the study for review. Besides establishing construct validity, social science researches need also establish external validity by testing the applicability of the findings to external case studies (Wille et al, 2010, pp. 791-806). Alternative method Alcohol impairs cognitive function that includes planning, decision-making and risk perception. It also triggers aggressive driving behavior such as following too closely and speeding. Studies indicate that the effect of alcohol use on driving is related to the crashes. Some studies have claimed that one glass of wine will impair driving more than smoking a joint of marijuana would. However, this research proposal is on the marijuana use among drivers. This is because there are few studies that present data on marijuana related accidents. References Bingham, C., Shope, J., Raghunathan, T. & Zhu, J. (2007). Young adult driving after using drugs. ProQuest-CSA, 4(1), 23-52. Jones, A, Holmgren, A. & Kugelberg, F. (2008). Driving under the influence of cannabis: A 10-year study of age and gender differences in the concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol in blood. Addiction, 103(3), 452-461. Kelly, E., Darke, S. & Ross, J. (2009). A review of drug use and driving: epidemiology, impairment, risk factors and risk perceptions. Drug and Alcohol Review, 23(3), 319-344. Wille, S., Ramrez-Fernandez, M., Samyn, N. & Boeck, G. (2010). Conventional and alternative matrices for driving under the influence of cannabis: Recent progress and remaining challenges. Bioanalysis, 2(4), 791-806. Read More