Whether legal in a state or not, use of marijuana before to driving can be deadly. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, it can slow a driver’s reaction time, impair judgment of time and distance and decrease coordination. Those who are under the influence of marijuana also tend to weave in and out of traffic lanes which is exacerbated if they have also drunk alcohol.
This month, November, five states proposed to legalize the drug; Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada and was approved in all but Arizona and Maine is still undecided. It has also been recently approved in Arkansas, Florida, Montana and North Dakota.
Recreational use of marijuana has been legal in Colorado since 2012 but it is not known how it has affected accidents because of the way the data is kept with no separate recording as to whether those under the influence were influence by drugs or alcohol.
However, a study published in 2014 by researchers at Columbia University discovered that driving when affected by marijuana is probably on the increase with those drivers killed in accidents and testing positive for marijuana nearly tripling between 1999 and 2010.
If you or someone you love has been seriously injured in a Denver area accident, please call the Denver accident attorneys of Flesch Law Firm, at 720-689-0322 or contact us online today.
