Pubdate: Thu, 23 Feb 2012
Source: Sacramento News & Review (CA)
Copyright: 2012 Chico Community Publishing, Inc.
Contact:  http://newsreview.com/sacto/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/540
Author: Ralph Givens
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v12/n096/a03.html

NOTHING MAGIC ABOUT IT

Re "Oh, ho, ho, it's magic ..." (SN&R Letters, February 2):

Richard Copp's argument about marijuana on the highway misses the
point. No one has said that marijuana drivers are completely
accident-free. What the records show is that cannabis smokers have the
lowest accident rate of any group, including teetotalers. When the
records are examined it is clear that completely sober drivers have
more disastrous collisions on the highway than pot smokers.

A recent study by D. Mark Anderson demonstrates that states with
legalized medical marijuana have seen fatal car accident rates drop by
9 percent. This decline was linked directly to a reduction in the
practice of drunk driving. Persons living in states that had legalized
medical marijuana were less likely to drive under the influence of
alcohol, and more likely to use marijuana instead. Legal marijuana
lowers highway accident rates.

Ralph Givens

via email
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MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.