AAA brings marijuana driving to the mainstream media
This press release originally appeared on CALMca.org. The AAA has brought to light the issue of DUI of marijuana. CALM is an all volunteer Political Action Committee dedicated to defeating all efforts to legalize marijuana. With the AAA study it’s clear we must prevent full scale legalization at all costs.
The evidence keeps building that legalizing marijuana, or pretending it is medicine, presents greater dangers to the public. The latest evidence comes from a AAA study of drugged driving in Washington State, where fatality crashes related to marijuana use more than doubled in one year after legalization.
In Colorado, pot makes up 19% of all DUIs. Fatal crashes involving marijuana are up 44%.
In Utah, a state next to Colorado, the marijuana driving fatalities nearly tripled in 3 years from 6% in 2012 to 15% in 2015. Legalization in one state can have far-reaching negative impacts.
Nationwide, more than 50% of drivers rushed to trauma centers after crashes have drugs in their system, usually pot.
Scott Chipman, Southern California Chair of CALM warns, “The myth of marijuana legalization is that you can effectively regulate its use and the industry.”
Phillip Drum, whose sister was killed in Washington state by a marijuana impaired driver, indicates that “The victims of marijuana-impaired driving are most often the innocent – those not using marijuana. According to National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTHA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS data), states that have legalized or ‘medicalized’ marijuana have a 28.5% increased risk of driving fatalities.”
“If we are going to protect public health and safety, we have to keep marijuana illegal to keep the use from skyrocketing,” says Carla Lowe.
CALM calls on the citizens of