ARTICLE: Legalization of medical marijuana to decrease auto accidents.

New report indicates legalization of medical marijuana to decrease auto accidents.
POSTED BY BEN SCHWARTZ ON JAN 4, 2012 IN ACCIDENT LAW, BLOG, CRIMINAL AND DUI | 0 COMMENTS

I posted recently about a Slate.com article suggesting that a little marijuana made drivers safer on the road (here). Well, another study has come out suggesting that legalization of the drug actually has resulted in a statistically significant decrease in fatal car accidents. According to the report, legalization of marijuana has resulted in:
A 6.4% decrease in fatal wrecks that did not involve alcohol,
A 12% decrease in accidents resulting in death where the was a positive blood alcohol content (BAC), and
A 14% decrease in high-BAC fatal automobile accidents.
The study concludes that marijuana is a substitute for alcohol, rather than a complement to alcohol.
The authors do not conclude that driving under the influence of marijuana is safer than driving under the influence of alcohol. But the study is consistent with the earlier Slate article which suggested that high timers are more aware of their impairment, whereas drunk consumers of alcohol lose the awareness of their own impairment, making drunks more likely to drive and crash.
Here’s my take on this: after rollin’ a big fat joint and smoking up, your average pot smoker is not going out driving. Maybe they’ll lay on their sofa, eat Doritos and watch Ice Road Truckers, but they’re not actually going out to drive a tractor trailer and cause a crash and kill or injure someone. Of course legalizing medical marijuana reduces the overall number of car accident deaths. BUT… That’s not to say driving high is safe or a good idea. Anything that slows your reflexes cannot make you a safer motorist. In fact, studies suggest that driving high more than doubles the risk of being involved in a fatal crash (click here). Bottom line: don’t drink and drive, and don’t smoke marijuana and drive either.
Ben
Benjamin A. Schwartz represents people injured and the families of those killed by careless, reckless and impaired motorists who drive drunk, or who consume drugs such as pot and drive. If you were victimized by such a motorist, contact Ben for a free consultation to learn your legal rights.
Schwartz & Schwartz wants you to know that the views and opinions in this article are Ben Schwartz’s alone, and do not represent the views of the Firm or other attorneys who are members of the Firm.