Thelegalization of recreational cannabis usemay be associated with an increase in traffic accident , allot to new research in theJournal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs . To date , in the US , 18 states plus the District of Columbia have legitimatise mourning band for adults over the geezerhood of 21 , and while the new study only assesses the shock of this legislation in five of these states , the determination are withal worthy of consideration .

The study authors gather up information on road accidents in 11 state for the period 2009 to 2019 . Of these , Colorado , Washington , Oregon , California , and Nevada all legalized cannabis during this timeframe , while the stay six states maintained a Bachelor of Arts in Nursing on recreational use .

Overall , dealings wreck injuries rise by 5.8 percent in the five states that legalized weed , whilefatal accidentsjumped by 4.1 percent . significantly , no such increment was observed in the six controller province .

Interestingly , the initial surge in crashes was found to occur directly after legalization but before the onslaught of retail sale . Typically , states ask a twelvemonth or more to create a sound framework for the sale of cannabis , which means legalisation is often followed by a period of clock time in which the drug is legal to possess and employ but illegal to buy or deal .

Data indicates that traffic injuries rose by 6.5 percent after legalization before diminish by 0.7 percent once retail sale began . Fatalities , meanwhile , increased by 2.3 percent after legalization and a further 1.8 percent after dispensary were allow to open .

Explaining this discrepancy , cogitation author Charles M. Farmer said in astatementthat “ legitimation removes the brand of marijuana use , while the onslaught of retail sales agreement merely increases access . But access to marijuana is n’t hard , even in places without retail sales . user who previously debar ride gamy may finger that it ’s okay after legalization . ”

A deeper dive into the data revealed that the impact of the new legislation was not consistent across the five states : Colorado , which was the first to legalize , saw a 17.8 pct salary increase in crashes after both legalization and the onrush of retail sales . In California , however , this increase only reach 5.7 per centum , while Nevada ’s fortuity charge per unit really fell by 6.7 percent .

In terms of fatal collapse , Colorado and Oregon experienced increases of 1.4 percent and 3.8 percent respectively , while decreases of 1.9 percent , 7.6 percent , and 9.8 percent were seen in Washington , California , and Nevada .

“ The differing crash effects in California and Nevada could be attributable to lessons check from the early states [ to legalize ] , ” publish the source . For instance , they say that tougher law enforcement against stoned driving and “ more effective public service promulgation about responsible use of goods and services of marijuana ” may have aid to reduce the harms associated with legalization .

Regarding the fact that non - fatal stroke appear to have risen more crisply than deadly collapse , the research worker say thatstoned driverstend to correct by slowing down and keep more distance from other cars . While this tactic may not be sufficient to forestall crashes , it does at least help to determine the severity of these collisions .

Although the new study helps to highlight some of the obstruction that must be cover when ending the prohibition of cannabis , Farmer is keen to designate out that the data presented is merely correlational and does not rise that legalisation causes smash . “ Studies looking for a verbatim causal linkup between marijuana exercise and clangour peril have been inconclusive , ” he said .

“ Unlike alcoholic beverage , there is no skilful objective measure of just how impaired a ganja user has become . Until we can accurately mensurate marijuana impairment , we wo n’t be able-bodied to link it to crash risk of exposure . ”