Why Older Cannabis Users May Drive Too Soon

As cannabis use continues to rise among older adults, researchers are beginning to explore questions that go beyond consumption itself. One increasingly important question being asked is: How do older cannabis users decide when they’re safe to drive?

Many people assume they can accurately judge their own level of impairment. If they feel alert, focused, and capable, it may seem reasonable to believe they’re ready to get behind the wheel. However, emerging research suggests that confidence and actual driving readiness may not always align.

An exploratory study¹ involving adults between the ages of 60 and 78 examined how participants rated their cognitive function and driving ability after using cannabis. The findings offer new insight into how self-perception may influence decisions about driving and why relying solely on how someone feels may not always be the safest approach. Let’s take a closer look at the research.

Cannabis Use Is Rising Among Older Adults

Older adults represent one of the fastest-growing groups of cannabis consumers. Many use cannabis to help manage chronic pain, arthritis, sleep disorders, anxiety, or other age-related health concerns. As legalization expands and medical cannabis programs become more widely available, this trend is expected to continue.

However, despite this growing population of consumers, surprisingly little research has examined how older adults perceive cannabis-related impairment or how those perceptions affect driving decisions. To better understand these behaviors, researchers surveyed 283 adults between the ages of 60 and 78 about their cannabis use, perceived cognitive function, confidence in their driving ability after consuming cannabis, as well as how long they typically waited before driving, and the results were surprising.

Cannabis Experience Shapes Confidence

The study revealed that the participants were highly experienced cannabis users. Participants first used cannabis at an average age of 20, and nearly 96 percent reported using cannabis at least once a week. Many had decades of experience with the plant, suggesting they were very familiar with its effects.

Researchers also found that cannabis use frequently extended beyond one source. Fifty-eight percent of participants reported holding a medicinal cannabis prescription, while 70 percent reported using cannabis that had not been prescribed to them. This overlap reflects the increasingly complex ways many older adults access cannabis today.

While years of experience can help consumers become familiar with how cannabis affects them, the familiarity may also increase confidence in one’s ability to function normally after consumption, and that confidence became one of the study’s most notable findings.

Confidence Predicted Earlier Driving

Nearly half of participants reported driving within four hours of consuming cannabis. Researchers identified several factors associated with this behavior, but one stood out in particular. For every increase in participants’ self-rated cognitive and driving ability, the odds of driving within four hours increased by approximately 22 percent. In other words, individuals who believed they were thinking clearly and driving well after using cannabis were also more likely to decide that waiting longer before driving was unnecessary.

The findings do not prove these participants were actually safe, or unsafe, to drive. Instead, they demonstrate that subjective confidence strongly influenced driving decisions. This distinction is important because feeling unimpaired is not always the same as being unimpaired.

Cannabis Tolerance May Affect Perception

One possible explanation for the participants driving soon after consuming cannabis involves tolerance. People who use cannabis regularly often report experiencing fewer noticeable psychoactive effects than occasional users. Over time, they may feel less intoxicated after consuming similar amounts of cannabis.

However, reduced subjective intoxication does not automatically mean that all cognitive or psychomotor functions have fully returned to baseline. Driving depends on a combination of attention, reaction time, decision-making, visual processing, and coordination. Some of these abilities may still be affected even if an individual feels “normal.”

While this study focused on how participants perceived their own abilities and how those perceptions influenced their driving behavior, future research will need to also measure driving performance or cognitive impairment.

Medical Cannabis May Promote Safer Choices

One of the study’s most encouraging findings involved medicinal cannabis prescriptions. Participants who held a medicinal cannabis prescription were 46 percent less likely to report driving within four hours of cannabis consumption than those without a prescription.

Researchers cannot say exactly why this relationship exists, but several possibilities may explain the finding. For example, patients receiving medical cannabis often interact with healthcare providers who discuss dosing, side effects, medication timing, and activities that require caution, including driving. Formal prescribing may also encourage patients to think more carefully about responsible cannabis use and potential impairment. In contrast, people obtaining cannabis outside the medical system receive little to no professional guidance regarding safe driving practices.

Although additional research is needed, the findings suggest that education from healthcare providers could play an important role in promoting safer driving decisions among cannabis users.

What the Study Does Not Show

Like all research, this study has limitations. Because the data came from an online survey, researchers relied entirely on participants’ self-reported behaviors and perceptions. The study did not include laboratory testing, cognitive assessments, driving simulators, or roadside evaluations to determine actual impairment.

The researchers also cannot conclude that driving within four hours is inherently unsafe for every individual, as cannabis effects vary depending on dose, product type, route of administration, metabolism, frequency of use, and individual physiology.

Instead, the research identifies factors associated with the decision to drive soon after cannabis use. Future studies that combine self-reports with objective driving assessments will help clarify how perceived competence compares with actual driving ability in older adults.

Final Thoughts: Why the Findings Matter

As cannabis becomes more widely accepted among older adults, understanding how users assess their own readiness to drive becomes increasingly important. This study suggests that confidence itself may influence driving decisions. Participants who believed they were thinking clearly and driving well after cannabis use were more likely to drive within a relatively short period following consumption. At the same time, those participating in the medical cannabis system appeared more cautious, suggesting that access to professional guidance may encourage safer behaviors.

For older cannabis users, and healthcare providers alike, the research highlights the value of education, informed decision-making, and allowing sufficient time before driving. As scientists continue exploring cannabis and driving, understanding the difference between perceived ability and objective impairment may become an increasingly important part of responsible cannabis use.

References:

^{1. K.B. Stefanidis, C. Schiemer, K. Armstrong, Cannabis, self-ratings of cognition and driving behaviour among older adults: an exploratory study, Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Volume 122, 2026, 103733, ISSN 1369- 8478, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2026.103733}