In 2009, Colorado residents voted in favor of the commercialization of medical marijuana, allowing people to use cannabis if they have a written medical consent. While there are many benefits of using marijuana for medical purposes, as it is proven to help relieve pain and other symptoms of certain diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and cancer, there are various side effects that have been scientifically proven, including drowsiness, anxiety, and short-term memory loss.
These side effects and how they affect drivers was the subject of a study that was conducted by a group of researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, who wanted to find out whether the use of marijuana increases the risk of accidents.
They used from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) that covers motor vehicle accidents between 1994 and 2011, and analyzed fatal crashes in Colorado that occurred during this period. Researchers focused on the trends in fatal accidents before and after medical marijuana was commercialized, and compared the statistics against states, where medicinal use of cannabis is not allowed.
The analysis showed that the number of crashes with at least one driver under the influence of marijuana was involved, started to increase drastically after the commercialization of medical marijuana, which occurred in mid-2009. In the first six months of 1994, 4.5% of all fatal crashes involved at least one driver who was tested positive for marijuana, whereas in the last six months in 2011, this percentage jumped to 10%.
The largest increase occurred between the middle of 2009 and the final months of 2011, and it was notably more drastic compared to the 34 non-medical marijuana states. However, even though this study shows that the proportion of marijuana-positive drivers involved in fatal crashes elevated considerably after the commercialization of medical marijuana, it does not confirm that marijuana impairment was the factor that caused the accidents. In any case, Stacy Salomonsen-Sautel, Ph.D, the lead author of the study, underlined that these statistics indicate that education and prevention programs aimed at raising the awareness of the consequences of impaired driving need to be improved.
Although it is widely believed that driving under the influence of marijuana is not nearly as dangerous as drunk driving, there are lots of risks involved in getting behind the wheel after using marijuana. There are various effects in the use of marijuana that impact a person’s driving abilities. For instance, marijuana delays a driver’s response time, which is one of the key elements of safe driving. Drowsiness is also one of the side effects of marijuana use, and drowsy driving is one of the most common causes of car crashes. Furthermore, there are a lot of studies that confirm that drivers under the influence of marijuana have difficulties maintaining proper lane positioning and safe following distance, since marijuana affects distance perception and hand-to-eye coordination.
With this in mind, it could be said that marijuana-impaired drivers present a risk to traffic safety, which is why driving under the influence of marijuana is illegal and punishable in most states.