The charge per unit of fateful car crashes did not significantly increase in the first three years after unpaid marijuana was legalized in Washington and Colorado , according to a novel studypublished this calendar week in theAmerican Journal of Public Health .
The researchers from the University of Texas at Austin draw on statistics of annual statewide motor fomite crash fatalities . They used statistical analysis to liken motor vehicle crash fatality between 2009 and 2015 in Washington , Colorado ( these two state legalized recreational marijuana in 2012 ) , and eight control DoS . Alabama , Indiana , Kentucky , Missouri , South Carolina , Tennessee , Texas , and Wisconsin were chosen as the restraint submit since they all have comparable traffic , roadway , and universe characteristics , yet do not have unpaid marijuana legalization .
Overall , annual motor vehicle crash human death rate decreased over this six - year point , from 12.8 fatalities per billion vehicle miles traveled in 2009 to 11.4 fatality per billion vehicle stat mi traveled in 2015 . Washington and Colorado witnessed a 0.1 fatalities per billion fomite increase in the years after recreational marijuana was legalized . Using difference - in - dispute depth psychology , they concluded these post - legalization pace were not significantly different from those observe in the states where recreational marijuana is still illegal .
“ We found no significant association between recreational marijuana legalisation in Washington and Colorado and subsequent changes in motor fomite human death rates in the first three class after recreational marijuana legitimation , ” the researchers concluded .
Of of course , irrespective of their finding , driving under the influence of marijuana is not a well mind . As previous studieshave shown , there is grounds of a verbatim human relationship between blood THC ( the primary psychoactive component of marijuana concentration ) and impaired driving ability .
The debate about recreational and medicinal marijuana bear on to ramp on , while constantly throwing up a muckle of seemingly contradictory statistic . For model , these findings go against a similar ( and more widely - publicized ) subject field that come out this week by theHighway Loss Data Institute(HLDI ) . This car policy research organisation found hit policy claim are “ about 3 percent high overall than would have been expected without legalization . ” Another study last year , also institute fatal route accident involve lapidate driver had doubled , from 8 to 17 pct , between 2013 and 2014 , after Washington legalized marijuana .
A pot of factors can explain these difference , whether it is simply dissimilar data or an ideology pass the interpretation of fact . just put , since there is presently just a few age ' Charles Frederick Worth of statistics usable on the thing , there ’s not enough evidence to draw hard last yet . Until then , the issue is bound to rest brumous and right for debate .
