Legal marijuana sales linked to more car crashes
Legal marijuana sales linked to more car crashes
The Impact of Cannabis Legalization on Traffic Injuries: A Canadian Study
In a new study conducted in Canada, researchers have found that emergency room visits for injuries related to driving under the influence of cannabis have skyrocketed following the legalization of the drug in the country. As of October 2018, Canada became the second country to nationally legalize recreational or nonmedical cannabis for adult use. While cannabis-involved emergency department (ED) visits for traffic injuries remained relatively rare, they increased by a staggering 475% over a span of 13 years, with a sharper rise in accidents observed after legalization.
Lead author Dr. Daniel Myran, a post-doctoral trainee at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and a family physician at the Ottawa Hospital, highlighted the concerning increase in cannabis-related traffic injuries and emphasized the role of legalization and commercialization in driving these rates higher.
The study, which analyzed cannabis-involved ED visits for traffic injuries between 2010 and 2021, aimed to identify changes after the commercialization of the legal cannabis market in October 2018, which saw the expansion of cannabis products and retail stores. The data comprised more than 947,000 ED visits for traffic injuries in the province of Ontario.
The findings revealed that annual rates of cannabis-involved visits surged from 0.18 visits per 1,000 total collisions in 2010 to 1.01 in 2021. Legalizing non-medical cannabis, even with restrictions, resulted in a 94% increase in the rate of cannabis-involved traffic injury ED visits compared to the pre-legalization period. However, after commercialization and during the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers observed an even greater increase of 223% in rates compared to the pre-legalization period.
The study also highlighted key demographic insights, showing that higher rates of ED visits were seen in men, individuals residing in lower-income neighborhoods, those aged 19 to 21, and individuals who had previously experienced a cannabis-related ED visit. These trends may reflect broader patterns in cannabis-impaired driving.
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The authors acknowledge that emergency department staff may have been more aware of the potential for cannabis-related traffic injuries after legalization, leading to higher levels of cannabis testing. However, this could not explain the entire increase observed.
It is important to note that the true impact of cannabis legalization on road safety is still not fully understood due to the overlap of the study period with the decline in driving and mobility caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study findings underline the need for enhanced prevention efforts, including targeted education and policy measures, to address the increase in cannabis-involved traffic injuries. By raising awareness about the dangers of driving under the influence of cannabis and implementing effective policies, it is hoped that these trends can be reversed.
