States With Legal Marijuana See Rise In Car Crashes

By Admin on October 22, 2018
(Photo By: Bryan Steffy / Getty Images for MedMen)

Hmmm… Can’t say I’m surprised? Two studies says car crashes were up as much as 6% in states where recreational marijuana use is legalized, USA Today reports. According to research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute, collision claims were higher in four states where marijuana was legal at the time of the study: Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

The studies were presented Thursday at the Combating Alcohol-and Drug-Impaired Driving summit. The Highway Loss Data Institute study focused on collision claims between 2012 and October 2017, and compared against four control states where marijuana remains illegal: Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming.

A separate study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety focused on police-reported crashes before and after retail marijuana was allowed found Colorado, Oregon and Washington saw a 5.2% increase in the rate of crashes per million vehicle registrations, compared with neighboring states.

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