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What MJ Legalization Did to Car Accident Rates
Posted by CN Staff on June 26, 2017 at 06:22:26 PT
By Christopher Ingraham
Source: Washington Post 
USA -- Last week, a pair of studies came to seemingly opposite conclusions on whether rising marijuana use is causing an increase in car crashes in states that have legalized the drug.The first, conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, analyzed insurance claims for vehicle collisions filed between January 2012 and October 2016. The IIHS researchers compared claims in states that had recently legalized marijuana (Colorado, Washington and Oregon) with claims in similar neighboring states that hadn't.
They found that over that time period, collisions claim frequencies in the states that had legalized marijuana were about 3 percent higher than would have been anticipated without legalization. The researchers characterized that number as small, but significant. Collision claim frequency refers to the number of claims filed divided by the number of insured vehicle years.“The combined-state analysis shows that the first three states to legalize recreational marijuana have experienced more crashes,” said Matt Moore, senior vice president of the IIHS's Highway Loss Data Institute, in a statement.But hot on the heels of that analysis came a second study, published in the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH), that found no increase in vehicle crash fatalities in Colorado and Washington, relative to similar states, after legalization.The authors of that study analyzed federal data on fatal car crashes from 2009 to 2015. “We found no significant association between recreational marijuana legalization in Washington and Colorado and subsequent changes in motor vehicle crash fatality rates in the first 3 years after recreational marijuana legalization,” they concluded.On the one hand, a finding that legalization led to a small but significant increase in crashes. On the other, a study concluding that legalization had no effect on fatal crashes at all. Do the two contradict each other?Not necessarily. The studies measured slightly different things: IIHS looked at claims for motor vehicle collisions, while the AJPH report focused more specifically on fatal crashes. It seems plausible that legalization could lead to a slight increase in minor accidents that don't prove fatal.Indeed, federal research has shown that while smoking weed before driving does indeed elevate your risk of crash, it's nonetheless far less impairing than alcohol, which dramatically increases the likelihood of a crash even at small doses.Beyond that, the two studies used different baselines for comparison. The IIHS report compared legalization states to their neighbors. The AJPH study, on the other hand, chose comparison states not based on geography but on other shared characteristics: traffic patterns, makeup of roadways and population.Both approaches have their strengths. But in the end, it's hardly surprising that choosing different comparison states will yield slightly different results on similar measures.Any increase in car crashes is cause for concern. But on balance, public health experts worry more about fatal crashes than nonfatal ones, for obvious reasons. The AJPH study is heartening news on that front, and it comes on the heels of previous research showing that medical marijuana laws are also not associated with increased vehicle fatalities, and may in fact lead to fewer traffic deaths. Christopher Ingraham writes about politics, drug policy and all things data. He previously worked at the Brookings Institution and the Pew Research Center.Source: Washington Post (DC)Author:  Christopher IngrahamPublished: June 26, 2017Copyright: 2017 Washington Post CompanyContact: letters washpost.com Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ URL: http://drugsense.org/url/EHPBnHwQCannabisNews  -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml 
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on July 02, 2017 at 09:57:32 PT
South Dakota gets me thinking
about my faith and spiritual beliefs. "Free will" in particular. I understand the free will stuff, but sometimes, it seems like it would be ok if suddenly a big invisible hand reaches in and forcefully stops egregious acts such as these against another.I know it doesn't work that way. It's a good thing I'm not God. I would mess it up with my anger and frustration, I'm sure.
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Comment #3 posted by Hope on July 02, 2017 at 09:40:14 PT
Something happens to the brain of the diehard
prohibitionist. They are the personification of "Self" righteous. They are wicked, indeed.'Conduct that Shocks the Conscience': South Dakota Forcibly Catheterizes a Toddler in the Name of the War on Drugshttp://www.alternet.org/drugs/conduct-shocks-conscience-south-dakota-forcibly-catheterize-toddler-drugs
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Comment #2 posted by elliott baker on July 02, 2017 at 07:13:28 PT:
pot and driving
scientific american did this study many years ago.they found experienced users showed no difference in driving than normals . for inexperienced users they didn't drive as well but still better than the alcohol group.this is old news and we know the answer. so much research has been done but we are stonewalled with the idea more research has to be done .total nonsense the govt has done cancer research on pot and found it cured cancer but they never tell you that.look it up pot and cancer.now you know we are being lied too rthis medicine can help with diseases that make the drug producers lose money thats why it is illegal because they will lose money if we are allowed to grow our own medicine.our founding fathers would not be happy.they made the population grow pot.look it up. now you know.this driving thing is nonsense.its an attempt to demonize weed when drinking is so much worse when driving.get real
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Comment #1 posted by Hope on June 26, 2017 at 11:59:47 PT
I noticed that last week.
Two, seemingly, conflicting studies hit the media at the same time. I also noticed in the news that prohibitionists are still killing people and causing death and misery because of their fear of the plant.People used to kill each other over salt, didn't they?What stupid beings.The drug war will go down in history as another Inquisition. Another act of inhumanity towards others.Please let it end. No one should be killed or punished, or deprived, or persecuted over cannabis... or any plant whatsoever. Actually people shouldn't be killed over pills, powders and potions either.If you think people need your help because of any perceived substance use or overuse... offer them your help. Sell them help, but you, no one, has the right, in any sane universe, to force their will in such matters on others.If you're a self-righteous authoritarian you need to back off and mind your own business. There is a huge difference between "Righteous" and "Self-Righteous". Huge.Think of the great gifts of nature. There are so many. They are so amazing wonderful. To prohibit fellow humans from the use of these great gifts is an injustice... from one end of the universe to the other.To kill or imprison people for wanting to use what is rightfully theirs, through nature is some kind of especially egregious murder, assault, and imprisonment. Like "Malice a fore thought".
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