Triple-I Blog | Pot Legalization Link To Car Crashes Variesby State, Study Finds
Max Dorfman, Analysis Author, Triple-I
Leisure marijuana use is related to automobile crash trends, in keeping with a paper revealed within the Journal of Research on Alcohol and Medication. Nevertheless, the research additionally famous that retail marijuana gross sales aren’t solely answerable for the overall rise in accidents.
Legalization of leisure marijuana use was correlated to a 6.5 p.c development within the fee of crashes involving accidents and a 2.3 p.c rise in these involving fatalities. With legalization and retail gross sales, the research discovered that the overall affect was a 5.8 p.c rise in harm crash charges and a 4.1 p.c improve in deadly crash charges.
However these outcomes have been inconsistent throughout states, with the consequences on harm crash charges various from a 7 p.c lower to an 18 p.c rise and deadly crash charges starting from a 4 p.c improve to a ten p.c decline. Colorado skilled the largest rise in harm crash charges after legalization and retail gross sales, coming in at 17.8 p.c. Nevada skilled the most important decline in deadly crashes, at 9.8 p.c.
“Legalization removes the stigma of marijuana use, whereas the onset of retail gross sales merely will increase entry,” said lead researcher Charles M. Farmer of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. “However entry to marijuana isn’t troublesome, even in locations with out retail gross sales. Customers who beforehand prevented driving excessive might really feel that it’s okay after legalization.”
Farmer added, “Research on the lookout for a direct causal hyperlink between marijuana use and crash threat have been inconclusive.” In contrast to with alcohol, no goal measure but exists for a way impaired a marijuana person has change into.
As Triple-I notes, most research find that marijuana use results in impaired coordination, reminiscence, associative studying, consideration, cognitive flexibility, and response time. Though it’s clear from this analysis that driving potential is diminished, the extent of impairment continues to be studied.
Youthful drivers are at larger threat of visitors accidents than older drivers, with youthful male drivers at excessive threat. Early evidence signifies that youthful male drivers are more than likely to drive below the affect of marijuana.
Another study, within the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, suggests power, heavy use of leisure marijuana impairs driving abilities, even when the motive force shouldn’t be excessive, with those that began repeatedly utilizing marijuana earlier than 16 years outdated displaying the worst outcomes.
These outcomes exhibit that the consequences of marijuana differ broadly throughout demographic teams, making it all of the extra essential for everybody to be cautious when utilizing the drug.
