The Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) has introduced a dedicated educational tool called the “Riding Straight—Marijuana Awareness Host-An-Event Kit” to address the growing concern of motorcyclists riding under the influence of cannabis. This course-in-a-box is designed for outreach events, clubs, dealerships, training providers, and rally settings—not as a formal licensing curriculum, but as a clear awareness and prevention tool.
Why the Course Matters
With an ever-expanding number of U.S. states legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana for medicinal or recreational use, MSF recognized a critical gap in rider education around impairment from cannabinoids. While many motorcycle safety programs emphasize alcohol impairment, fewer actively address cannabis-related riding risks. MSF’s message is succinct: don’t operate a motorcycle (or any motor vehicle) if you are impaired by marijuana.
Motorcycling demands rapid decisions, precise coordination, a strong perception of time, speed, and space, and constant scanning of dynamic traffic conditions. Marijuana may distort perception of time and space and degrade motor skill precision—outcomes particularly dangerous for motorcyclists.
What the Course Includes
The Host-An-Event Kit contains several components and is structured as follows:
- A central tool: the Marijuana Impairment Simulation Goggle developed by Innocorp, which simulates some of the perceptual/motor effects of marijuana.
- Three key activities that participants can perform (wearing the goggles) to experience how their coordination, reaction, balance, perception, and decision-making are compromised.
- Facilitator guidelines: The course is designed such that anyone can host an event—no specific MSF certification or instructor license is required. This makes it accessible for community groups, riding clubs, and outreach programs.
- Supporting materials: Videos, handouts, and presentation aids to help facilitate discussion and reinforce the message of unimpaired riding.
Key Messages & Outcomes
- Impairment is real: Even though the goggles cannot perfectly replicate a marijuana “high,” they simulate impairment in key domains—such as delay in reaction, altered perception, and reduced motor coordination.
- Legal and safety consequences: Riders riding under the influence of marijuana can be convicted of similar offences as riding under the influence of alcohol, and suffer analogous legal penalties.
- Shared responsibility: The kit is intended to be used proactively in community settings (clubs, rallies, dealerships, training events) to stimulate conversations and behaviour change around safe riding and drug use.
Usage & Practical Considerations
- The Kit was originally priced around USD $595 but later offered at a reduced rate (approx. USD $379) to make it more accessible for training sites and public agencies.
- While designed for motorcyclists, the underlying message is broadly applicable: any vehicle operation while under influence of impairing substances is risky.
- It’s not a replacement for formal rider training. It’s an awareness-tool, complementing existing training programs by highlighting the specific risks of cannabis impairment.
- Event hosts should ensure a safe environment for the simulation activities, and follow up with discussion on real-world riding, peer behaviour, and legal consequences.
Why It’s Relevant to You
Given your interests — especially as someone with experience in riding, boat-leisure, and health/industry education — this course illustrates how a safety organisation addresses a contemporary drug-use risk in a high-skill-demand activity like motorcycling. It’s a good example of how training programmes can adapt to changing legal, social and health contexts. If you’re ever involved in community education (for example at a riding club or safety fair), this kit may serve as a useful model or resource.
In sum: The MSF’s “Riding Straight – Marijuana Awareness” course is an innovative, outreach-focused tool designed to highlight the unique risks of riding while under the influence of cannabis. By combining experiential simulation (goggles), discussion-driven activities and peer-friendly delivery, it fosters increased awareness, safer choices, and community conversations around impairment and motorcycling safety.