Legalization of cannabis in Nevada has not increased road deaths

«Cannabis is dangerous and its authorization would increase the number of fatal accidents on the road» was the major argument of anti-cannabis legalization campaigns in Nevada. However, this claim does not seem to have been borne out in the state after the recreational legalization of cannabis.

Legalization criticized

In Nevada, the campaign to legalize cannabis was a tense one. Several collectives, associations and groups were vying for legalization, and TV channels organized debates, with some strong arguments: legalizing cannabis could trivialize consumption, especially risky consumption such as that by young people or before driving, with a consequent increase in the number of road deaths.

The vote took place November 8, 2016, and it was rather close: the’«Initiative to regulate and tax marijuana» won by 54%, against 46% for «no», while only 4 counties out of 17 voted in majority for «yes». Nevada thus legalized the use, consumption, cultivation, sale and purchase of cannabis for anyone aged 21 or over, with an effective date of January 1, 2018 for the state, and July 1, 2017 for Las Vegas County.

First study on road accidents

The first statistics on the state of Nevada show that the number of deaths in road accidents has not increased since cannabis was legalized.

In 2016, 329 people lost their lives in road accidents in Nevada. In 2017, the figure was 305, a decrease of almost 10%.

Would the legalization of cannabis have reduced the number of road accidents? Not for sure. Other laws and regulations concerning road safety were put in place during this period, which could justify such figures. The overall results show that the proportion of deaths caused by «DUI», Driving Under Influence (driving under the influence) dropped significantly, by 33% in Clark County and 45% on average in the State of Nevada.

It is therefore difficult to link this fall in road deaths to the legalization of cannabis, which has not, however, led to an increase in the number of road deaths.