Pubdate: Wed, 30 Sep 2015
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2015 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Ashley Halsey III, The Washington Post

DRUGS, POT CITED IN STUDY

Group Sees Link Between Legalization and Accidents on Highways

Drunken drivers have long been the scourge of the roadways, but now 
drivers on drugs are becoming a menace that rivals them, according to 
a new federal report.

A quadrupling use of prescription drugs since 1999 and legalization 
of marijuana use in some states are cited among the reasons drug use 
has become an increasing threat to roadway safety, according to a 
report released Wednesday by the Governors Highway Safety 
Association, an organization of state highway safety officers.

According to the study, drugs were found in the systems of almost 40 
percent of fatally injured drivers who were tested for them. That 
rivals the number of drivers who died with alcohol in their system.

The number of dead drivers who tested positive for drugs has 
increased from 29 percent in 2005 to 39.9 percent in 2013, the report 
said, citing federal crash data.

The report draws on federal data again, in this case from National 
Highway Transportation Safety Administration roadside surveys, as 
evidence that illegal drug use and the use of prescription 
medications have increased in the past five years.

"We look to the federal government to take a leadership role in this 
issue similar to that of drunk driving and seat-belt use," said 
Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety 
Association.

"Every state must take steps to reduce drug-impaired driving, 
regardless of the legal status of marijuana," Adkins said.

The report cited three other studies that differed somewhat in 
linking marijuana law changes to traffic fatalities.

One found that was there an increased marijuana presence in fatally 
injured drivers in only three of 14 states studied.

Another focusing on Colorado said that marijuana-positive fatalities 
increased by about 4 percent.

The third, in California, found no change after marijuana was 
decriminalized there in 2011.

Driving under the influence of marijuana is illegal in all states.

The governors group report concludes that, "Marijuana is by far the 
most common drug that is used, found in roadside surveys, and found 
in fatally injured drivers. Marijuana use by drivers likely increases 
after a state permits recreational marijuana use."

The GHSA report said police officers should be trained better to 
identify drivers who are high on drugs. Roadside enforcement also 
would be helped, the report said, by widespread use of saliva devices 
that test for drug use.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom