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WA ... State sees sharp rise in pot-involved fatal crashes

yortbogey

To Have More ... Desire Less
Veteran
New data released by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission shows the state has seen a dramatic increase in traffic deaths involving marijuana over the past five years.

In total, 60 percent of drivers in fatal accidents from 2010 to 2014 were tested for drugs, with 20 percent of those testing positive for marijuana.

In 2014, 85 percent of drivers who tested positive for marijuana were high when they crashed, up from less than half of drivers tested in 2010, with men ages 21 to 25 making the largest increase, the report said.

Marijuana can be detected in a user’s blood for days and even weeks after the actual high has worn off. This most recent state data measured the driver’s active THC levels after an accident. THC is the intoxicating compound in marijuana that creates a high.

Current Yakima County data only shows if drivers tested positive for marijuana, not whether they were high at the time. That data showed positive tests jumped from two drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2013 to eight drivers in 2014, the highest level since 2010.

With the passage of Initiative 502 legalizing recreational marijuana, a DUI blood-THC limit of 5 nanograms-per-milliliter of blood was established.

The data said at least one driver had tested for up to 70 ng/ml.

Alcohol contributed to
half of marijuana-involved crashes as well, with most of those drivers exceeding the state’s 0.08 blood-alcohol-content limit.

Recent state laws make it illegal for drivers and passengers to use marijuana, and all open containers of weed must be kept either in a trunk or out of the cabin, similar to open-container alcohol laws.

Emphasis patrols will be hitting the roads today through Labor Day weekend, the report said, citing the increase in pot-involved traffic deaths as a contributing factor.


http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/st...cle_825257d4-3efc-5f6e-922b-570845ad589d.html
 

aridbud

automeister
ICMag Donor
Veteran
In total, 60 percent of drivers in fatal accidents from 2010 to 2014 were tested for drugs, with 20 percent of those testing positive for marijuana.

Interesting how cannabis use is lumped together with other drugs in findings.

https://ncadd.org/in-the-news/1007-...es-involving-marijuana-tripled-in-last-decade

"....Marijuana use contributed to about 4 percent of fatal crashes in 1999, and 12 percent in 2010. The combination of marijuana and alcohol is particularly dangerous, the researchers found. "If a driver is under the influence of alcohol, their risk of a fatal crash is 13 times higher than the risk of the driver who is not under the influence of alcohol," Li said. "But if the driver is under the influence of both alcohol and marijuana, their risk increases to 24 times that of a sober person....

The findings appear in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

"Given the increasing availability of marijuana and the ongoing opioid overdose epidemic, understanding the role of controlled substances in motor vehicle crashes is of significant public health importance," Li said in a news release.

In a study published in September 2013, Li found almost 32 percent of drivers involved in fatal accidents, and about 14 percent of drivers not involved in such accidents, tested positive for at least one drug. Depressants were most likely to be associated with deadly accidents, followed by stimulants, narcotics and marijuana."

Nationwide the numbers are climbing. Will be interesting, since this is older data, if 2015 remains the same or increases percentage-wise.

Thanks for the article.
 
R

Robrites

In total, 60 percent of drivers in fatal accidents from 2010 to 2014 were tested for drugs, with 20 percent of those testing positive for marijuana.

Interesting how cannabis use is lumped together with other drugs in findings.

https://ncadd.org/in-the-news/1007-...es-involving-marijuana-tripled-in-last-decade

"....Marijuana use contributed to about 4 percent of fatal crashes in 1999, and 12 percent in 2010. The combination of marijuana and alcohol is particularly dangerous, the researchers found. "If a driver is under the influence of alcohol, their risk of a fatal crash is 13 times higher than the risk of the driver who is not under the influence of alcohol," Li said. "But if the driver is under the influence of both alcohol and marijuana, their risk increases to 24 times that of a sober person....

The findings appear in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

"Given the increasing availability of marijuana and the ongoing opioid overdose epidemic, understanding the role of controlled substances in motor vehicle crashes is of significant public health importance," Li said in a news release.

In a study published in September 2013, Li found almost 32 percent of drivers involved in fatal accidents, and about 14 percent of drivers not involved in such accidents, tested positive for at least one drug. Depressants were most likely to be associated with deadly accidents, followed by stimulants, narcotics and marijuana."

Nationwide the numbers are climbing. Will be interesting, since this is older data, if 2015 remains the same or increases percentage-wise.

Thanks for the article.

"Interesting how cannabis use is lumped together with other drugs in findings."
Anyone pushing an agenda can manipulate "facts and figures" to show the outcome they want. The truth somehow died long ago.
 

ChaosCatalunya

5.2 club is now 8.1 club...
Veteran
Pot makes you drive more carefully, proven fact and personal observation.

This is just bullshit hacked statistics, just designed to keep pig's snouts busy in the trough with rules and regulations to enforce.
 

Dog Star

Active member
Veteran
I dont belive in this cause before few days i avoid tree in a moment i was very high
on BHO,and cannabionides saved my life for sure as i was drive this part much slower.

Thats why i think that text is BS cause i belive that those fatal DUI crash involve alchohol
beside cannabis... and then we get totaly different picture what causes this crashes..
 

aridbud

automeister
ICMag Donor
Veteran
"Interesting how cannabis use is lumped together with other drugs in findings."
Anyone pushing an agenda can manipulate "facts and figures" to show the outcome they want. The truth somehow died long ago.

Exactly...stats can be manipulated any way to show 'cause'...like polls/studies. And it's murky statistics combining ALL drugs contributing to crashes.
 
A

acridlab

I can see it being tru,, only because of the younger generation of stoners are on another level.. And with all the wax in theyre g-pens, etc..some of the kids that i know around town get so stoned they look like they are disabled in the head. Put them behind a steering wheel.. Yeah.....
 

yortbogey

To Have More ... Desire Less
Veteran
^^^truth... use need not be abuse.... fooking same kids, fueling the REC scene... screwing the MED patients....... OH this state, and there way of thinking... passive aggressive think tank with hidden agenda's.....of course the state would support, and relish in these stat's...
it only fuels there fire for TOTAL {weed} DOMINATION..... greedy fuckers
 

prune

Active member
Veteran
In total, 60 percent of drivers in fatal accidents from 2010 to 2014 were tested for drugs, with 20 percent of those testing positive for marijuana.

Interesting how cannabis use is lumped together with other drugs in findings.

https://ncadd.org/in-the-news/1007-...es-involving-marijuana-tripled-in-last-decade

"

In a study published in September 2013, Li found almost 32 percent of drivers involved in fatal accidents, and about 14 percent of drivers not involved in such accidents, tested positive for at least one drug. Depressants were most likely to be associated with deadly accidents, followed by stimulants, narcotics and marijuana."

So, in other words, Cannabis is the safest "illicit" drug. We've already seen the data showing that substitution therapy for all those "bad" drugs with marijuana lowers fatal accidents, yet here the Drug Nazi's have turned it all around and blamed pot - just for being there...
 

Scrappy-doo

Well-known member
And they didn't come to the conclusion that perhaps the % went up because more people are consuming cannabis? Doesn't prove that cannabis was the cause of these crashes. If the total # of fatal car crashes also went up that's the only way that arguement could have a leg to stand on. Otherwise duh of course the % of people with thc in their system went up because the % of the whole population using cannabis has gone up. It's not rocket science.
 

Adze

Member
Scrappy-doo got it right. What if an equal number of drivers who weren't in fatal crashes were tested, would we find the use of cannabis has soared to 20% among them? What would that prove? Only the weak minded are persuaded by such statistical arguments.
 

Crusader Rabbit

Active member
Veteran
After medical marijuana use was approved in Montana and Colorado, drunk driving accidents went down because more people chose to smoke pot instead.
 

Splatoid

New member
I know for a fact how much more dangerous I was while drinking than when smoking pot. I cant say I have never been enough to not drive safely.I can remember an indecent where My bud turned me on to just one tiny hit and I thought stingy bastard. And got in my car and couldn't find third gear on my three speed Valiant.and got lost on the curve heading into town in the country on a road I drove on every day. But it was never as bad when I was drunk and i had to cover one eye to see only one car coming at me. And I still saw double.
But the stats that are thrown about are crap. Kaiser is making me take drug test's to be able to keep getting Oxy. I take about one every 3 days for about 7 years now. If they find marijuana in my system they cut me off. But drinking alcohol would be alright.Bastards!!!
 

JustSumTomatoes

Indicas make dreams happen
How many people crash while high as opposed to wreck while dead sober? You probably shouldn't drive while on anything but those statistics on pot related crashes seem a bit stretched.
 

yesum

Well-known member
ICMag Donor
Veteran
You should not be high and driving no matter what, but this study does little to make a case against pot. No idea how much thc in the people and the other drugs involved. Propaganda again. I will drive after the initial heavier buzz subsides, but even then rarely do. After an hour I am not very high no matter what I smoked.

For me pot does not make me less aware or mess with reactions but does tend to promote daydreaming which is not good, like focusing on something interesting I see rather than the road. Alcohol messes with reactions, coordination and causes a lack of fear, all bad news.

Doing concentrates and edibles is something else again. I could see a problem there.
 

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
How many of these crashes were from out of state drivers trying edibles for the first time? How many were in-state drivers trying edibles for the first time?

Prohibition ripples are freaking stupid. Stifling information is dangerous and has caused a huge backlash in society.
 

therevverend

Well-known member
Veteran
For some reason I can't find the study but the state patrol did a study on stoned driving. They found regular cannabis users drove fine and infrequent users drove horrible. This makes sense, when I smoked all the time my coordination when I was high was amazing. I could hammer a curving whiffle ball, run down a mountain, drive my car safely. When I'd get my brother, who rarely smoked, high he'd do things like driving 40 mph through a five way stop intersection without stopping.

I try to avoid driving when I'm high, don't drive when I'm super high. If I've had a couple tokes I do fine but have to keep very focused on what I'm doing. If you get pulled over don't expect to be treated or tested fairly, Washington state's cannabis sobriety test is a joke.

https://q13fox.com/2017/07/20/not-b...ton-still-struggles-with-marijuana-dui-limit/
 
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