Washington: increase in fatal road accidents involving cannabis

Colorado had not seen an increase in the number of traffic accidents since the legalization of cannabis. Washington State, on the other hand, appears to be experiencing a significant increase in the number of accidents, according to a study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety). However, according to a separate study by the same group, it is difficult to determine whether a driver is too intoxicated to drive.

Fatal accidents involving drivers who had recently used cannabis more than doubled in 2014 in that state. Cannabis was the cause of 17% fatal accidents in 2014, compared with 8% in 2013, the year before recreational cannabis was legalized.

«The significant increase in fatal accidents involving cannabis is alarming,» says Peter Kissinger, CEO of the Foundation, which funds rigorous scientific studies for the drivers« organization. »Washington serves as a real-world test case for other states that might want to legalize cannabis.”.

But developing a test to keep reckless drivers off the road is more complicated than a breathalyzer or the standard blood alcohol test, according to the Foundation. While tests show that driving under the influence of alcohol worsens as blood alcohol levels rise, laboratory studies show that the same is not true for high levels of THC. A driver would not be affected in the same way than another with similar THC levels, whether low or high.

«There is undoubtedly a strong desire among lawmakers and the public to establish legal limits on driving under the influence of cannabis, just as there are for alcohol,» says Marshall Doney, CEO of the AAA. «In the case of cannabis, this approach is flawed and not supported by scientific research. It is simply not possible today to determine whether a driver is impaired by cannabis based solely on the amount of the drug present in their system.».

The AAA Foundation's study has been criticized by the National Cannabis Industry Association (National Cannabis Industry Association) which refers to another study by the Department of Transportation, which stipulated that drivers People who have consumed alcohol are at greater risk of being in an accident than those who have used cannabis.

«All this study shows is that more people in Washington State are using cannabis and therefore have THC in their blood at the time of the accident. But since having THC in one’s blood says nothing about a driver’s abilities, it would be like a report showing the number of people who drank a beer the week before their accident,» replied Taylor West, deputy director of the NCIA.

The AAA states that the key finding of this study is that it is important for drivers to understand that cannabis can impair their ability to drive.

«Whether cannabis is legal or not, all drivers should avoid driving under the influence of cannabis,» the group says. «Just because a substance is legal doesn’t mean it’s safe to use it while operating a motor vehicle. Drivers who get behind the wheel while under the influence of cannabis are putting their own lives and the lives of others at risk.».

Another problem with the THC test is that it requires a blood test, which can take up to two hours—much longer than a breathalyzer test. THC levels can drop significantly during those two hours, thereby skewing the results.

Rather than relying on legal limits, the AAA recommends administering a behavioral test in addition to a blood test to measure behavioral and physiological effects.