VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – As we wait to see what Canada’s marijuana laws will look like, statistics from south of the border suggest we could see an increase in pot-related DUIs on our roads after it’s legalized here.
The latest numbers show fatal crashes involving weed increased in Washington after it became recreationally available in the state nearly two years ago.
“Where we had previously been in the mid-1950s and 60s, when it comes to the number of fatalities attributed to marijuana impairment, in 2014 we had 99,” says Dough Dahl with the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.
But he cautions the numbers for 2015 are not complete yet and, with less than a year of legalization in 2014, it’s hard to know if the 50 per cent spike is an anomaly or a trend.
“However, if you look at our fatality rates for impaired driving in Washington over the last seven or eight years, we’ve actually done pretty well at reducing alcohol impairment, but we’ve seen an overall increase in drug-impaired driver fatalities,” Dahl tells NEWS 1130.
In fact, he says, 2014 was the first year the state had more fatalities with drugs as a factor than alcohol.
His advice for lawmakers and police forces north of the border? “[To] anticipate that when you make a change that there can be a ripple effect and to be ready for it. Make sure that your system is prepared to investigate drug-impaired drivers, not just alcohol impaired drivers.”
“I think historically, we have focused on reducing alcohol DUIs and the message has gotten through. Culturally we no longer think it’s no big deal, but we haven’t really pushed that message out with marijuana. I think a lot of people look at marijuana impairment differently than alcohol impairment and haven’t really thought through the consequences yet.”
