Crashes Rise in States with Legalized Marijuana

[ykX]

https://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/desktopnews/crashes-rise-in-first-states-to-begin-legalized-retail-sales-of-recreational-marijuana

"Crashes are up by as much as 6 percent in Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, compared with neighboring states that haven't legalized marijuana for recreational use, new research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) shows."

"The new IIHS-HLDI research on marijuana and crashes indicates that legalizing marijuana for all uses is having a negative impact on the safety of our roads," says IIHS-HLDI President David Harkey. "States exploring legalizing marijuana should consider this effect on highway safety."

 

"In addition to the study states, Alaska, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont and the District of Columbia also allow recreational use of marijuana for adults 21 and older and medical use of marijuana. Another 22 states allow medical marijuana, while 15 more states permit the use of specific cannabis products for designated medical conditions.

Legalization of recreational use is pending in New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. In November, Michigan and North Dakota will hold referendums on marijuana, and Missouri and Utah voters will decide whether to expand medical marijuana laws in their states."

"Driving under the influence of marijuana is illegal in all 50 states and D.C., but determining impairment is challenging. Unlike alcohol, the amount of marijuana present in a person's body doesn't consistently relate to impairment. THC, or Tetrahydrocannabinol, is the primary psychoactive component of cannabis. A positive test for THC and its active metabolite doesn't mean the driver was impaired at the time of the crash. Habitual users of marijuana may have positive blood tests for THC days or weeks after using the drug."

[Drew Dowdell]

The problem is going to be the judgement of what is considered impairment. 

[G. David Felt]

But this makes being a Pot Farmer very lucrative for those living next to Canada now that it is legal in the country. New Export Crop - Washington Bud!

Just remember to be kind and Puff, Puff, Pass! 

[balthazar]

^ Looks like some good time.

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Quote

"The new IIHS-HLDI research on marijuana and crashes indicates that legalizing marijuana for all uses is having a negative impact on the safety of our roads," says IIHS-HLDI President David Harkey. "States exploring legalizing marijuana should consider this effect on highway safety."

'Should consider' - too late, apparently. The fact that an imbibed chemical is getting approved in widening areas WITHOUT any guidelines, studies or standards for impairment while driving is amazing to me. I don't care what people do privately, but public roads are another matter.

Edited October 18, 2018 by balthazar

[ykX]

52 minutes ago, balthazar said:

^ Looks like some good time.

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'Should consider' - too late, apparently. The fact that an imbibed chemical is getting approved in widening areas WITHOUT any guidelines, studies or standards for impairment while driving is amazing to me. I don't care what people do privately, but public roads are another matter.

Soon coming to NJ as well thanks to our governor ...

[A Horse With No Name]

Since there is no good way to test for impairment. ..or a standard...

2 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

The problem is going to be the judgement of what is considered impairment. 

Exactly. 

[G. David Felt]

2 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

The problem is going to be the judgement of what is considered impairment. 

I thought you measured it based on how many brownies they eat? 

[ccap41]

2 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

The problem is going to be the judgement of what is considered impairment. 

That was/is my ONLY issue legalizing it in the first place. I think they needed to figure out a way to accurately test on the side of the road before it should have been legalized. 

I also noticed this never says DUI(or DWI - depending on your state's wording) are increased. It just says crashes are up. They could very well be making a correlation out of nothing at all. If DUIs are causing all 6% of increased crashes..they're absolutely on to something here.

Just saying crashes are up 6% since legalization might be extremely misleading. 

[William Maley]

This quote really jumped out to me

Quote

Marijuana’s role in crashes isn’t as clear as the link between alcohol and crashes. Many states don’t include consistent information on driver drug use in crash reports, and policies and procedures for drug testing are inconsistent. More drivers in crashes are tested for alcohol than for drugs. When drivers are tested, other drugs are often found in combination with alcohol, which makes it difficult to isolate their separate effects.

 

[G. David Felt]

44 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

That was/is my ONLY issue legalizing it in the first place. I think they needed to figure out a way to accurately test on the side of the road before it should have been legalized. 

I also noticed this never says DUI(or DWI - depending on your state's wording) are increased. It just says crashes are up. They could very well be making a correlation out of nothing at all. If DUIs are causing all 6% of increased crashes..they're absolutely on to something here.

Just saying crashes are up 6% since legalization might be extremely misleading. 

Totally agree that there is much vagueness to this. There should be clear DUI, here in Washington they do have a test machine that is a drug swab test. All state, county and city police are trained on the physical signs to look for and then the test to see how much they have in their system. Nothing is perfect, but they do have the DUI broke down by the two types.

Also, this does not seem to take into account the growth of the states that have legalized it. Due to High Tech Jobs, Washington state has really grown in the last couple years. 6% increase in accidents could just be normal for the millions that have moved here.

I know that Washington, California , Colorado and I have heard Oregon is also going to the Drug Swab test that is accurate and holds up in court.

There is a BIG point missing here. The Millions saved on jail space, court time, etc. from removing POT and the arrest, process, etc. that goes with it being criminalized. 

EDIT: https://lcb.wa.gov/mj2015/faqs_i-502 This is the Washington state FAQ on POT. Our law states the following for DUI: 

The initiative sets a per se DUI limit of "delta-9" THC levels at greater than or equal to 5 nanograms per milliliter of blood (5 ng/mL). State and local law enforcement agencies are tasked with enforcing the DUI limit.

[ccap41]

How long does the swab process take? 

[G. David Felt]

11 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

How long does the swab process take? 

It is an 8min test.

[ccap41]