Still, researchers from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety say the number of car crash injuries has risen by nearly six percent in states that have legalized recreational weed.
The group's 2022 study showed a 5.8 percent rise in traffic crashes in Colorado Washington, Oregon, California, and Nevada after pot shops sprang up in those states.
Accidents have increased in legal recreational marijuana states.
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According to the authors, earlier studies involving driving simulators have shown marijuana use to affect reaction time, road tracking, lane keeping and attention. However, Farmer notes that the current study is correlational, and increased marijuana use itself is likely not the sole cause of the increases seen.
“Studies looking for a direct causal link between marijuana use and crash risk have been inconclusive,” he says. “Unlike alcohol, there is no good objective measure of just how impaired a marijuana user has become. Until we can accurately measure marijuana impairment, we won’t be able to link it to crash risk.”
To conduct their research, the investigators collected data on traffic crashes and traffic volume for 2009 to 2019 from 11 states and from the Federal Highway Administration. Five states (Colorado, Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada) had legalized recreational marijuana during the study period. A comparison group of six states (Arizona, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) did not. The authors statistically adjusted for factors known to contribute to crashes and fatalities, including seat belt use and unemployment rate.
The changes in injury crash rates varied by state: Colorado had the biggest jump (+17.8%) and California the smallest (+5.7%) after both legalization and the onset of retail sales. Nevada’s rate decreased (-6.7%). For fatal crashes, increases occurred in Colorado (+1.4%) and Oregon (3.8%), but decreases were found in Washington (-1.9%), California (-7.6%) and Nevada (-9.8%).”
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