Driving high may change your life, but not in a good way.
Stoners think driving high is safer than driving straight (wrong) and better than driving drunk (not hardly). The jokes about driving painfully slow or stopping at a green light always get big laughs at the comedy club. But, stoned driving is no laughing matter, and like drunk driving, it kills.
The American Automobile Association recently issued a damning report about the real consequences of legalization. One of the first states to legalize marijuana in 2012, Washington state has seen traffic fatalities caused by stoned drivers double from 2013 to 2014.
Colorado is another state where traffic fatalities have increased as a result of legalization. In this video, we see how legalization activists are misusing the statistics and misleading the public.
Watch Colorado Traffic Fatalities Video
A California law firm warns that even medical marijuana users who drive impaired are breaking the law. Yet, these same attorneys seem to assuage the guilt of marijuana users by saying it doesn’t impair driving (they are looking to defend stoned drivers, so naturally they try to appear pro-pot).
PopPot.org has written stories inspired by news headlines of pedestrians, motorists and bikers and bicyclists crashed into by drivers under the influence of this brain changing drug. Marijuana: Pedestrians and Cyclists Not Safe.
Photo of Richard Tom by John Matrix. It originally appeared on another website, Bike List
The number of bicyclists hit and killed by stoned drivers, or critically injured, is growing. Of course it happens most frequently where marijuana is legalized or where there is medical marijuana. Congressman Earl Blumenauer is a big advocate for bicycling, a healthy activity at odds with the marijuana businesses he supports.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Portland, is a great supporter of bicycling. However, advocating for marijuana puts bicyclists in grave danger.
There were at least two fatal bicycling accidents in the Portland area involving impaired drivers this spring. Articles mention that the drivers were under influence but don’t reveal what substances caused the impairment. Stoned drivers are more common in the day while drunk drivers are usually out in the dark.
Kalamazoo, Michigan, June 7
The driver who killed five bicyclists near near Kalamazoo, Michigan on June 6, was high on drugs, legal drugs according to the prosecutors. It may have been “medical” marijuana which is legal in Michigan. Four more bicyclists were injured. MADD warns that “drugged” driving will overtake drunk driving as a cause of accidents by 2020. Marijuana is the most common drug found with drugged drivers.
Stacy Reynolds and Joe Ramos were much beloved in the community and mourned after their death. A stoned 17-year-old without a criminal record was driving home from smoking pot with friends.
In Berkeley, California, a terrible crash happened when a driver had just come from a medical marijuana dispensary. The woman was dragged and badly injured but she survived. It should be mentioned that Berkeley gives out marijuana to homeless residents, a program which makes it more difficult for them to get back on their feet.
California’s Proposition 64 is called the Adult Use of Marijuana Act. Anyone who believes that legalizing marijuana will keep it out of the hands of teenagers is nuts. At least three of these fatal crashes were caused by 17-year-old drivers. Sanctioning adult use of the substance means the children will use it more often and think it’s harmless.
Vermont legislators are expected to take up legislation to legalize pot this month, but they should examine the evidence and stop looking at dollar signs. Marijuana causes car accidents and is known as a trigger for mental health problems and psychosis.
