Study: 40% of Fatal Car Crash Victims Are Stoned

According to the American Journal of Public Health 62 million Americans aged 12 or older are using marijuana, and the market for the drug has reached nearly $40 billion.  The increase in marijuana use corresponds with the effort to legalize it, which has now occurred in 38 states and U.S. territories.  The impact of the drug on public health has become difficult to ignore with numerous studies documenting the negative effects both psychological and physical which are common among regular users. One of those negative impacts is fatal vehicle accidents. A Wright State University study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons reports that more than 40% of those who die in car crashes have high levels of THC, the compound in marijuana what makes users high. The average blood level in fatal accident victims was 30.7 ng/ML.  The legal limit among states which have legalized marijuana for recreational use ranges from 2 to 5 ng/ML.  This suggests that users involved in car crashes had smoked or ingested the drug shortly before getting behind the wheel, or while they were driving. Money is driving the marijuana industry’s continued push for more states and the federal government to legalize the drug for recreational use although at least half of the marijuana currently sold in the U.S. is on the black market. It was a mistake for America to start down this path and it’s costing people’s lives.