News » Legal Marijuana Means Fewer Traffic Fatalities, Study Says





According to research by the University of Colorado Denver’s Professor Daniel Rees and Montana State University’s A.Professor D. Mark Anderson, states with medical marijuana on the books have lower traffic fatalities and alcohol consumption. The two are likely related.

The study compared traffic fatalities nationally for the years 1990-2009. It compared states with and without marijuana legalization laws as well as their traffic statistics from before and after those laws were in place. It found that states with legalized medical marijuana saw traffic fatalities drop by 9% and beer sales drop by 5%.

“Our research suggests that the legalization of medical marijuana reduces traffic fatalities through reducing alcohol consumption by young adults,” says Professor Rees.

“We were astounded by how little is known about the effects of legalizing medical marijuana,” Rees said. “We looked into traffic fatalities because there is good data, and the data allow us to test whether alcohol was a factor.”

Anderson noted that traffic deaths are significant from a policy standpoint.

“Traffic fatalities are an important outcome from a policy perspective because they represent the leading cause of death among Americans ages five to 34,” he said.

The two researchers also cited an earlier study that showed that those driving while under the influence of marijuana are much less of a traffic problem than those driving under the influence of alcohol.

The study also examined marijuana use in three states that legalized medical marijuana in the mid-2000s, Montana, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Marijuana use by adults increased after legalization in Montana and Rhode Island, but not in Vermont. There was no evidence that marijuana use by minors increased.

You can read the study, Medical Marijuana Laws, Traffic Fatalities, and Alcohol Consumption, at this link.

[source Study PR]

Tags: alcohol, medical marijuana, MMJ, montana state university, traffic fatalities, university of colorado denver