Pubdate: Sat, 08 Mar 2014
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2014 The Seattle Times Company
Contact:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Author: Gene Johnson, The Associated Press
Page: 10

STATE SEES A JUMP IN DRIVING WHILE ON POT

More drivers tested positive for marijuana in Washington in 2013, the
first full year after the state legalized pot, but so far, officials
say, there's been no obvious jump in car accidents.

The State Patrol says 1,362 drivers tested positive for active
marijuana in their systems - up nearly 25 percent from 2012, even
though the patrol had fewer troopers on the road and there was no
overall rise in DUI arrests.

Of those, 720 drivers had marijuana levels high enough to lead to an
automatic drugged-driving conviction.

Nevertheless, a preliminary tally counts 99,690 crashes reported to
law enforcement in 2013, up just 72 from the year before, State Patrol
spokesman Bob Calkins said. Of those, 443 were fatal - compared with
444 in 2012, 454 in 2011 and 521 in 2008.

The trend for fatal accidents "has been strongly down for several
years, and we are not seeing a change in that trend since the
legalization of marijuana," he said.

But the increase in pot-related driving arrests is nevertheless
troubling, especially considering that legal marijuana sales haven't
even started in Washington, said Kevin Sabet, of the anti-legalization
group Project SAM, for Smart Approaches to Marijuana.

"Drivers are getting the message that driving under the influence of
marijuana is acceptable because it is less dangerous than driving
under the influence of alcohol. But that doesn't mean it's safe,"
Sabet said. "Of course it's not safe."

The drivers who tested positive were driving recklessly enough to get
pulled over, he noted.

The state did see a big jump in drivers testing positive for a
marijuana compound that stays in the system longer than active THC -
meaning they had used marijuana within days or weeks of their arrest,
but weren't necessarily impaired.

Some 40 percent of drivers tested positive for that compound, carboxy
THC, as opposed to about 25 percent in prior years.
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MAP posted-by: Matt