Post-Legalization, Marijuana-Related Fatal Crashes Double in This State
The number of fatal crashes involving drivers who had recently used marijuana doubled in Washington after the state legalized the drug, according to new research. But the impact of impaired drivers on the state’s roads remains unknown.
Those are the conclusions from a pair of new studies conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. More than anything, the organization’s dual findings illustrate the complexity of determining impairment in marijuana-using drivers and, more broadly, how difficult it is to measure the scope of stoned driving.
With at least 20 states considering marijuana legalization this year, the studies’ findings heighten concerns about drugged driving spreading across a nation already grappling with a historic rise in traffic fatalities, but they also show early approaches in trying to legislate solutions might be wrong-headed.
While increases in blood-alcohol content correlate with decreases in driving abilities, there’s no such correlation with THC, the active component of marijuana, in the bloodstream. AAA says there is no scientific evidence that drivers perform more poorly behind the wheel at a certain level of marijuana use. As a result, arbitrary thresholds “could result in unsafe motorists going free and others being wrongfully convicted for impaired driving.”
The AAA studies are the latest in a growing body of research that shows Americans should be concerned about stoned driving, but that quantifying both risks and solutions is a confusing process. (Read more from “Post-Legalization, Marijuana-Related Fatal Crashes Double in Washington” HERE)
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