States That Legalized Medical Marijuana Saw Fewer Traffic Deaths, Study Says

A new study has revealed a link between states with legalized medical marijuana and a reduction in traffic-related fatalities. The study was conducted by D. Mark Anderson, a Montana State University economics professor, and Daniel Rees, a professor at the University of Colorado Denver.

In looking at state-level data from sources such as the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, Anderson and Rees discovered that states that had legalized medical marijuana saw an average of a 9 percent decrease in traffic deaths.

"We were pretty surprised that they went down," Rees told the Denver Post.

In an attempt to explain the results, Rees said that the passage of medical-marijuana laws likely resulted in young people consuming less alcohol in favor of using marijuana.

"The result that comes through again and again and again is [that] young adults ... drink less when marijuana is legalized and traffic fatalities go down," Rees told the Post.

Anderson, Rees' fellow researcher, told the Missoulian that while the research doesn't prove that smoking marijuana impairs drivers less than alcohol, this is still a possibility.

"It could be that," Anderson told the paper. "We're saying our results would be consistent with that."

But Discover magazine is skeptical of any strong causal relationship between legalized medical pot and traffic deaths.

From Discover:

There isn't crystal-clear evidence that medical marijuana laws actually do get people to smoke more pot—the three states they discuss, Montana, Rhode Island, and Vermont, have widely varying numbers of people signed up for medical marijuana, and although there was an increase in reported marijuana use in two of the states for some age groups, it wasn't huge.

The study also does not look at states that have not legalized medical marijuana.

The research was posted on the Institute for the Study of Labor's website and is under peer review by the Journal of Law and Economics.

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[dosangel]

07:45 PM on 01/03/2012

Legalizing Marijuana is NOT going to solve all the problems, only make things worse. This country does NOT need brainless individuals walking around the streets, driving vehicles, etc. not to mention poluting the air with offensive odors. I am aware of two friends that are both 18 years old, and they claim they have a BAD BACK, so they need pot, to relieve their suffering. Give me a break, they are both overweight, so all they need to do is just go out and EXERCISE, and strengthened the back and stomach muscles. That would solve their problem. Drug users are stealing from family, friends, and people just to get money, causing undue stress on others, since they are selfish, and only care about themselves., just so they can get a fix. People who criticize others that have a difference of opinion than themselves, need to open their minds, especially those people that are as high as a kite, due to them being high on pot,and have NO sense of reality. People have DIED, due to marijuana abuse... (that claim also goes with DRUNK DRIVING).

[Dezembrr]

10:22 PM on 01/03/2012

Gee, I think you've included all the typically hyped information. Now go back and google some facts, including the fact that there has NEVER been a death caused by to cannabis, unlike alcohol and tobacco.

[carnivaluv]

11:15 PM on 01/03/2012

'"People who criticize others that have a difference of opinion than themselves­, need to open their minds"

Please take your own advice and quickly.

[cable12]

09:34 PM on 01/04/2012

Confucius you are not

[Dogvane]

01:58 PM on 01/03/2012

Legalized grass also takes money out of the pockets of nefarious dealers, reduces the number of "drug deals gone bad" murders, provides jobs to Americans and keeps prices reasonable. And history also shows us that prohibition causes crime. If we put a tenth of the money into recovery programs that we invest in interdiction, we would be much more prosperous as a nation.

[Dezembrr]

10:23 PM on 01/03/2012

And think of all the revenues and job growth! Not to mention a calmer populace more capable of working together.

[cable12]

09:51 PM on 01/04/2012

You should run for office

[CannabisRex]

01:53 PM on 01/03/2012

Most long term cannabis users will tell you that they tend to drive slower and more cautiously when high, and can " snap out of it" quickly when the need arises, such as seeing a cop behind you or getting pulled over. Only a novice or someone seriously stoned would be unable to hide the effects from the average person, given that red eyes or a smell of pot were not a factor.

While NO driving should be done when any level of actual impairment is a reality, in general pot smokers will not cause accidents or change their driving radically. Just another nail in the coffin of lies from the prohibitionists. There was one study that actually showed pot smokers were safer than " sober ' ones, in general ...whether true or not pot certainly does not deserve any reputtaion as being dangerous as compared to alcohol.

[thomasmoylan8]

04:54 AM on 03/25/2012

Right on.In many,many driving collisions the statistics show Big legal Pharma tablets were to blame.O but that is OK---- right?????

[Rexter]

09:54 AM on 01/03/2012

The study would have more meaning if they had included an equal number of non-mmj states as a control group. As written, it is of interest, but lacks the scientific method crucial for data analysis and interpreting the results.

[Diablo Canyon]

09:41 AM on 01/03/2012

Pot is safer than booze. Unlike booze, nobody ever died from a pot overdose. And now this traffic study. And booze is legal. Wake up White people!

[I AM BRO]

11:15 AM on 01/03/2012

HEY! im white and i agree 110% with what you say! gah!

[Allforonelol]

12:48 PM on 01/03/2012

Almost every "white person" would love it if it was legalized....as long as they are under 35-40 thats where most of them want it legal.

[lletaa]

01:34 PM on 01/03/2012

I want it legal and all my friends do and we are all over 60. It all helps us cut down on prescriptions and makes our appetites much better!!

[kcmookie]

03:00 PM on 01/04/2012

As if making it about race wasn't bad enough, you want to add to the discussion by making it about age? Wow.

[Chockolate]

10:47 PM on 01/02/2012

It's way too early to make any conclusions on this. The danger is that people may think it's just fine to be stoned while driving, which it certainly is not.

[Dogvane]

02:02 PM on 01/03/2012

Driving impaired is driving impaired.

[cable12]

09:16 PM on 01/04/2012

Be careful the next time you take prescription drugs.SOME side effects of most popular prescription drugs are:blurred vision and dizziness.So,no one who takes Lunestra or Topomax should drive at all.......:)

[Y2KCockroach]

10:27 PM on 01/02/2012

I would happily trade a society that abuses alcohol to a society that uses pot.

I don't know of anyone who ever smoked themselves to death with pot, and I struggle to find the cases where someone crashed their car while high on weed.

[mynamesyow]

02:53 PM on 01/03/2012

Or got into fights and domestic abuse situations.
Im a pretty good watcher and judge of people and whenever I see two guys who dont know each other they will usually intially be quite stand-offish towards each other (especially when drinking)....EXCEPT when they find out that they BOTH smoke and then all of a sudden they are like old friends and laughing and chilling together...

[cable12]

09:17 PM on 01/04/2012

Right on,man

[Imlostinwyoming]

09:21 PM on 01/02/2012

After I got a DUI,and wrecked 2 cars, at 23,I quit drinking.But not smokeing. Since then,no arrests for DUI,no wrecks,not even a ticket.And I have my class A CDL.With all endorsments. Drove truck for over 20 years.Clean driveing record.I'm now 54.I'f I hadnt quit drinking i would more than likely be dead now,along with whoever I happened to hit with my car,truck or motorcycle.Friends of mine from back in the day,who didnt quit drinking,some dead,some handicapped and some in prison. This story only tells me what I allready know,Smokeing Marijuana is much safer than drinking.The Government lie's,for big pharma,the cotton industry and many other companies that legalizeing marijuana would put out of bussiness. Occupy you minds! Occupy Wall Street!

[cable12]

09:18 PM on 01/04/2012

Finally,THE TRUTH!!!!!!

[claygooding]

08:11 PM on 01/02/2012

Now that the smoke has cleared,,,at best,,the study shows a drop in deaths in mmj states,,and if it is not from people changing from alcohol to marijuana or that marijuana drivers are safer drivers than the government lets on,,it points out that the rates of death on the highways in mmj states did not go ballistic as claimed by every prohibitionist and drug warrior since the first medical marijuana law was voted in by the people.

[QtheHero]

07:48 PM on 01/02/2012

As part of a scientific experiment, I wish to be considered to participate in the very next study. I only wish to help my fellow man.

[rreap13]

12:59 PM on 01/04/2012

Now this is the mark of a community leader:) Ah, if only there were more who were willing to sacrifice themselves on the altar of "catchabuzz". Are we going to let this person step up with no support? I think not. Go ahead, QtheHero...we got your bong...er, back:)

[nrrork]

09:17 AM on 01/02/2012

Yep, and just about any cannabis smoker could've told you that.

Yeah, when you're high, you turn into a blithering idiot, but you turn into a GIGGLING, blithering idiot, so you sit on your couch and watch downloaded episodes of Rocko's Modern Life. Alcohol, turns a man into a reckless, impulsive blithering idiot.

[ILoveGreatDanes]

09:16 AM on 01/03/2012

I can see both sides of the argument. I smoked weed for about a year, and I couldn't function at all. I become a drooling, catatonic, useless waste of space. The only thing I did was keep working. I had a Swedish boyfriend who earned great money as a landscaper. Once he and MJ got acquainted he stopped working and went on to doing hard drugs, so I dumped him. I divorced my husband because he smoked weed and decided he didn't need to work anymore. He just stayed home, get stoned, ate cheeseburgers, and I supported both of us. That was NOT going to happen, so after several heart-to-heart chats that went in one ear and out the other, I kicked him to the curb. I'm not sure if it reduces a person's motivation or if people who use it lack motivation in the first place, or what.

[mynamesyow]

02:55 PM on 01/03/2012

thanks for the input. but dont use it to pain ALL men/people as in that same class of men...it may just be the type of Men that YOU seem to like. I know quite a few high functioning smokers w Advanced Degrees who dont like to Drink so they Smoke, and most of them have held the same jobs for years and years...

[cable12]

09:23 PM on 01/04/2012

of course you do not like marijuana..............God made it :)

[Dogvane]

02:05 PM on 01/03/2012

To each his own. It shouldn't be illegal in a free country. It should only be illegal if you're impaired and a danger to others -- not if you're kicking back at the end of the day watching Letterman.

[geddy lee is a god]

11:26 PM on 01/01/2012

States with legalized medical marijuana may have low traffic death rates, but they probably have high Cheeto, Twinkie, and Mountain Dew consumption rates.

[RMForbes]

12:43 AM on 01/02/2012

Yes cannabis consumption is only a danger to the food in my refrigerator.
Did you know that cannabis users live longer healthier lives and are generally thinner and smarter than non-users?

[geddy lee is a god]

11:30 AM on 01/02/2012

LOL. No argument here.

Long live marijuana...now pass the Doritos:)

[mynamesyow]

01:02 PM on 01/02/2012

not only that but numerous small to medium scale studies have shown that cannabis users have much fewer cases of alzeihemers or other types of mental dementia long term.

[Robert Gudzikowski]

10:47 PM on 01/01/2012

Maybe NASCAR should hold one race per year "Cannabis 500" and burn a fatty 30mins before the race. When their are no crashes people would understand the draft between some peoples ears!

[RMForbes]

12:31 AM on 01/02/2012

It wouldn't be a very entertaining race with everyone driving too slow and maintaining more than a car length between vehicles for every ten miles per hour in speed.

[Robert Gudzikowski]

10:02 PM on 01/02/2012

The fans are allowed a few burn outs! "Smiling wildly"

[Mitakuye Oyasin]

06:11 PM on 01/21/2012

Yes, many professional auto and motorcycle racers use cannabis regularly.

[l monroe]

06:53 PM on 01/01/2012

The argument about medical marijuana and booze is fallacious at best or a red herring at worst. Marijuana has a shorter half life than many sleeping pills, and pain relief medications can do many things to cognitive ability. I read many labels of friends' medications to keep them safe.

[RMForbes]

01:14 AM on 01/02/2012

Agreed, but you have to admit that you would most likely wait a few minutes before driving after consuming cannabis until you come down and even then you would have a tendency to drive slower and more carefully than you would normally. Alcohol has the exact opposite effect, making you believe you are far less impaired than you actually are. Prescription drugs are even worse than alcohol in masking the impairment they cause.

[l monroe]

04:43 AM on 01/02/2012

You have made my arguments clear and succinctly, thank you.

[Dezembrr]

10:27 PM on 01/03/2012

The Feds already know this. Check out the Marijuana And Actual Driving Performance Conducted on behalf of: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(DOT HS 808 078), Final Report, November 1993

[dadoorsron]

12:51 PM on 01/01/2012

This is ridiculus.

[vampyreincubus]

04:11 PM on 01/01/2012

Why because you can't believe people who are legally allowed to get high might be more responsible while they are calm and relaxed? I guess you don't believe in global warming either huh.

[dadoorsron]

06:06 PM on 01/01/2012

I can make a study that proves weed is the gateway drug to laziness and unemployment and the reason pot smokers don't get killed when they get into car accidents is because you can't get injuried hitting a bush in your driveway going 2 mph! I bet you think wearing a tin foil hat will help prevent "THE MAN" from reading your thoughts.

[Stefan Bast]

06:06 PM on 01/01/2012

Its mostly ridiculous, because the study did not look at states without legal marijuana. That way, it can describe a trend, but not link it to a cause. You can't compare two things, if you only look at one of them.