Drunk driving fatalities are going down across the country, but drug-impaired driving is increasing. Since Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana, there has been a noticeable increase in deaths caused by stoned drivers — especially in those states and but in other states, too. By 2020, MADD estimates that drugged driving will overtake drunk driving as a cause of impaired driving accidents. Marijuana is the drug most often cited for DUIs involving drugs.
According to Ed Wood of DUID Victim Voices:
“A link between THC blood levels and impairment may never be
developed comparable to the relationship that exists for alcohol.
Alcohol and marijuana are very distinct in terms of chemical makeup, body metabolism, and psycho-motor impairment and therefore should not be compared. Continue reading Stoned Driving Can’t be Measured As Well as Drunk Driving→
“A link between THC blood levels and impairment may never be
developed comparable to the relationship that exists for alcohol.
Alcohol and marijuana are very distinct in terms of chemical makeup, body metabolism, and psycho-motor impairment and therefore should not be compared. Strategies implemented to reduce alcohol-impaired driving are not likely to have the same impact on reducing drugged drivers.” — Ed Wood, DUID Victims Voices. THC is the short name for the most psychoactive cannabinoid in marijuana. This information is in a 61-page summary released by the state of Washington in October.
The number of marijuana-impaired drivers rose to 75 in 2014, first year of edible sales, up from 38 in 2013.
Phillip Drum, PharmD., writes the following summary of this report: Washington’s driving data is finally coming out and it is NOT good at all. It confirms what Dr. Marilyn Huestis has been warning about for years – that marijuana impairs driving.
In advance of Canadian National Teen Driver Safety Week – October 19-25 — SAM Canada reminds all Canadians of the dangers of driving under the influence of marijuana. SAM Canada is the Canadian chapter of Smart Approaches to Marijuana.
Frequently people state the belief that feel they are better drivers when they are high. These beliefs are perpetuated by the marijuana lobby in their quest for legitimacy, legalization and commercialization. When long-time stoners tell us this, it’s the youth who listen. Young people are only 13% of the drivers in Canada, but they account for about one quarter the traffic fatalities and injuries.
