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. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom