Legalizing marijuana is linked to reducing pedestrian deaths linked to booze
according to data, About 1 in 7 pedestrian deaths are caused by a drunk driver.
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration It states that about 32 people were killed by Driving under the influence of alcohol every day. That equates to one death every 45 minutes, a completely senseless and unnecessary preventable death. fact that alcohol consumption It has long been known to significantly impair drivers, yet people continue to do so. Alcohol alters one’s judgment, severely affects one’s ability to focus, and affects one’s coordination and vision – all of which contribute to impaired driving that can kill a pedestrian.
However, with the legalization of cannabis, more people are consuming pot as a substitute for alcohol. This has helped reduce pedestrian deaths caused by it Driving impairment.
a New study It was conducted by two researchers at Florida Polytechnic University who analyzed the relationship between legalization of cannabis and pedestrian deaths from 1985 to 2019. The study, published in the Journal of the International Association for Traffic Science and Safety Research, found that the legalization of recreational and medical cannabis was associated with reductions in pedestrian mortality, including those associated with with alcohol.
“As of 2019, we found that deregulation was associated with lower, not higher, pedestrian mortality. Furthermore, the pattern is consistent with the alcohol replacement hypothesis. Specifically, the induced decrease in alcohol-related deaths after deregulation is large enough to offset any additional deaths due to Marijuana consumption.”
ancient studies
But access to legal marijuana and a reduction in traffic fatalities is by no means a new correlation. Studies going back to 2011 found the same results. a November 2011 A study conducted by researchers at the University of Colorado Denver found that medical marijuana legalizations were associated with a 9% decrease in traffic fatalities, as well as a 5% decrease in beer sales. For the study, they analyzed data from several sources such as the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the Mortality Analysis Reporting System, and the Behavioral Risk Factor Monitoring System.
“Our research indicates that the legalization of medical marijuana reduces traffic fatalities by reducing alcohol consumption by youth,” explains Daniel Reese, professor of economics at the University of Colorado Denver. This is the first study to analyze any link between medical marijuana laws and traffic deaths.
“We were amazed at how little is known about the effects of legalizing medical marijuana,” says Reese. “We looked at traffic deaths because there is good data, and the data allows us to test whether alcohol is a factor.”
According to co-author D. Mark Anderson, these results are significant when one looks at them from a law-making perspective. “Traffic deaths are an important outcome from a policy perspective because they are the leading cause of death among Americans ages five to thirty-four,” he says.
Meanwhile, another study in 2013 yielded similar results. Researchers from Montana State University, the University of Colorado and the University of Oregon examined data on traffic deaths and alcohol consumption taken from 1990 through 2010.
“Using individual-level data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)…, we found that MMLs (medical marijuana laws) are associated with a lower likelihood that an individual has consumed alcohol in the past month, binge drank, and the number of drinks consumed.”
In addition, the researchers acknowledge that the decrease in alcohol consumption may be responsible for the decrease in alcohol-related traffic deaths.
Using data from the Federal Mortality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) for the period 1990-2010, We found that traffic deaths are declining by 8-11 percent during the first full year after legalization,” they wrote. “Why does legalizing medical marijuana reduce road traffic deaths? Alcohol consumption appears to play a major role. Legalization of medical marijuana is associated with a 7.2 percent decrease in road traffic deaths that were not Alcohol is reported to be involved, but this estimate is not statistically significant at conventional levels. By comparison, legalization of medical marijuana is associated with a 13.2 percent reduction in deaths where at least one driver had a positive blood alcohol concentration level.”
They concluded, “The negative association between legalization of medical marijuana and deaths from traffic accidents involving alcohol supports the hypothesis that marijuana and alcohol are alternatives.”
Cannabis is a better alternative to alcohol
Improved access to legal marijuana laws, whether medical or recreational, is reason enough for more people to give up alcohol and use pot instead. It’s bad enough that people who drive under the influence can kill thousands, but it’s also harmful to anyone who consumes it especially with chronic use or heavy drinking.
More people are seeing the benefits of consuming marijuana instead. Not only can it help reduce alcohol intake, but it can also eliminate dependence on it and improve families and communities as a whole. While alcohol has been notorious for tearing families apart and breaking up relationships – cannabis is a better alternative instead. And when it comes to driving, always drive discreetly – it’s dangerous and illegal driving under the influence, No matter what the essence is.
More about cars and weeds, read on..
Traffic accidents are not increasing as insurance companies believe.
