When More Isn’t Better: Multi-Substance Impaired Driving and Its Evolving Challenges to Public Health and Safety

Drug use has undergone significant changes, creating new and complex threats to public health and safety, especially in the realm of impaired driving. While alcohol has traditionally been seen as the primary culprit, it is now often part of a much broader problem. The rise of multi-substance, or polydrug, impairment has brought heightened risks to schools, workplaces, and roadways. Individuals are increasingly combining alcohol with other drugs or impairment-causing substances, frequently without understanding or considering the dangers these mixtures pose. This trend has quickly escalated into a public health crisis, complicating efforts to prevent impaired driving and reduce the tragic outcomes of crashes and fatalities linked to multi-substance drug use. Mixing and matching different drugs in pursuit of a “stronger, longer high” or specific effects is a particularly concerning behavior, making detection, intervention, and treatment more challenging than ever before. This workshop will address the false and often misconceived “more is better” thinking of drug use, the evolving trends of multi-substance drug use, and its effects on safe driving, public health and community safety.