§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when the research undertaken by the Transport Research Laboratory on the effects of cannabis on driving will be published. [139738]
§ Mr. HillWe expect to publish the first phase of the research on the effects of cannabis on driving before the end of the year. A further phase of the research programme, on the combined effects of alcohol and cannabis on driving, is in progress and will be completed next year.
§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will initiate a television campaign to publicise the dangers of driving under the influence of(a) illicit drugs and (b) drugs sold over the counter at pharmacists. [139723]
§ Mr. HillAs explained in the Government's Road Safety Strategy "Tomorrow's Roads—Safer for Everyone", the risks of driving while impaired by drugs need to be publicised.
The Department will be considering how this might be done in the light of what we have learned from research. For both medicinal drugs and illegal drugs, we aim to find the most effective way of conveying warnings to those most at risk. This may not necessarily be a television 549W campaign but could be a targeted form of publicity which would allow advice to be tailored more precisely to specific types of drug or to the likely users of them.