New Government Data Shows Marijuana, Legally Available to Less than 10% of all Drivers is Already Involved in 15% of Fatal Crashes, at 1/2 the Level of Drunk Driving and is a Dangerous Hallucinogen

    SAN FRANCISCO, CA, December 17, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- With many calling for the legalization of marijuana, they might want to consider recently released data from the NHTSA website. The 2014 data shows that in Washington State, a state where marijuana is legal for both recreational and medical use, the drivers in fatal crashes with known marijuana in their system has risen to 27%, nearly the level of DUI driving at 29%. This is what happen in just the first full year of the new WA law with recreational dispensaries opening on July 8, 2014. Compare this to the national data where marijuana has risen to 15%, about half of the national level of 31% for DUI driving, with only two states (WA and CO) having recreational sales being legal in 2014. Oregon began recreational sales on 10/1/15 and in Alaska has yet to set a date for recreational sales.

Further data shows that marijuana driver's impairment in fatal crashes is very much like that of DUI alcohol drivers and not at all like non-drinking drivers. Non-drinking drivers are more likely to collide with other vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists while marijuana and alcohol impaired drivers are more likely to rollover/overturn and veer off the road into posts, trees and into ditches. Further, the marijuana and alcohol impaired drivers were speeding much more often than non-drinking drivers.

This data furthers the evidence that marijuana drivers have a speed perception problem along with an attention span problem that quite often leads to going off the road and rolling over.

We believe that the data shows the danger of marijuana and driving and the potential for large increases in motor vehicle fatalities as marijuana becomes more popular and is legalized for use in other states. Marijuana is not a harmless hallucinogen, but one that may soon rival alcohol as the leading cause of preventable traffic fatalities. The data in this study suggests that the increasing availability marijuana will result in a tsunami of marijuana fatalities.

About Al Crancer Jr.:
Crancer lives in Moraga, Californian today is the principal of Crancer and Associates, a statistical research group that conducts research and analyses in traffic safety. In addition, Mr. Crancer has published numerous research articles that appeared in such journals as Science, Journal of the American Medical Association, and the American Journal of Psychiatry.

About DUIDeathsMatter.com:
DUIDeathMatters.com is an advocate for reducing DUI fatal automobile accidents through a disease prevention approach," Intervene to Isolate & Quarantine (IQ)", along with legislation to reduce the BAC legal limit to 0.05% in the United States. WWW.duideathsmatter.org

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