Marijuana can be legalized in two ways, allowing for its legal use. First, laws can be passed allowing medicinal use, where a prescription is required. Second, marijuana can be legalized for recreational use, where it is available for personal enjoyment just like a cold beer with your pizza.
Legal Access to Marijuana in Indiana and Illinois
In our part of the country, recreational marijuana is not available. There has been no law passed here that legalizes the use of marijuana for personal gratification.
Indiana has no recreational marijuana law. Neither does Illinois, nor any nearby jurisdiction. (The closest state approving recreational marijuana is Colorado.)
Notably, Canada has just announced legislation approving the use of recreational marijuana. In June 2018, the Canadian Senate passed its 2018 Cannabis Act. Recreational marijuana looks to be the law of the land, once legislators iron out the details.
See, “Q&A: The low-down on what Canada’s marijuana legalization means,” written by Liz Braun and published by the Toronto Sun on June 11, 2018.
However, Illinois does allow for medical use of marijuana. Medicinal marijuana use is also legal in Ohio, Michigan, and Minnesota.
It is legal to possess and use marijuana in Illinois as long as it is for medicinal purposes. Ditto for most of the boundaries surrounding Indiana: only Kentucky to the south does not allow for marijuana prescriptions.
Marijuana Use in Indiana and Illinois
With this availability, what does this mean for actual marijuana use in our part of the country? We know that more people will use marijuana for medical reasons in Illinois, as well as our neighboring states of Michigan, Ohio, and Minnesota.
We can assume that others will use marijuana for recreational reasons regardless of the legality here. Moreover, there will be those who access marijuana for medical reasons legally that bring the drug with them into Indiana, using medical marijuana in a state where it is not legal to do so.
Those who imbibe marijuana will have impaired faculties. Marijuana is a controlled substance that alters human perception and physical abilities.
So, is marijuana impairment causing more serious car crashes or an increase in fatal motor vehicle accidents? According to a new report, the sad answer to that question is yes.
New Drug-Impaired Driving Report from GHSA
The Governors’ Highway Safety Association (GHSA) has released its latest research on impaired driving in the United States, entitled, “Drug-Impaired Driving: Marijuana and Opioids Raise Critical Issues for States.”
The GHSA gathered its data from two sources: (1) the federal Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and (2) roadside surveys carried out in the United States and in Canada.
You can download the full GHSA report here.
Marijuana and Drivers
The new study focuses on both marijuana and opioids, and how they impact the user’s ability to drive a motor vehicle. According to the study’s findings the number of fatal accidents involving drivers who tested positive for drugs in the past 10 years has almost DOUBLED. (In 2016, 44% of drivers who died in a crash tested positive for drugs, up from 28% in 2006).
Of course, not all of the drivers who died in these crashes were impaired by marijuana: many had toxicology results revealing the use of various opioids. However, marijuana was a major factor according to the GHSA research.
According to the GHSA, more than half of the drivers involved in these fatal motor vehicle accidents who tested positive for drugs had marijuana in their system.
Other findings include (Report, page 9):
- More drivers were drug-positive than alcohol-positive both in 2016 and 2015.
- Many drivers combine more than one drug or combine drugs and alcohol.
- Drug presence increased substantially from 2006 to 2016.
- Alcohol presence decreased somewhat from 2006 to 2016.
How Marijuana Impairs Driving Abilities
The GHSA study references several earlier studies researching marijuana and driver impairment, as well as the increased crash risk for the driver who has ingested marijuana prior to operating his or her motor vehicle.
Studies show that marijuana cannot be easily categorized, and each incident must be individually evaluated. The impact of marijuana upon a fatal collision must be calculated based upon the unique characteristics of that specific crash.
For instance, research reveals that marijuana may impact the driver in several ways, such as:
- Balance
- Coordination
- Distance Perception
- Divided Attention
- Drowsiness
- Lane Tracking
- Reaction Time
(Report page 14; citing Capler et al., 2017; Compton, 2017; Strand et al., 2016).
Second, the use of the drug is not the same for everyone. Marijuana impairment depends not only upon the user but upon the product itself.
Chronic users may not be impaired even with high amounts. Newbies may be significantly impaired with a tiny bit of marijuana.
Third, there is no standardization for marijuana. The strength and potency varies widely, as well as the manner in which the marijuana is consumed and how that impacts the user.
In each fatal accident, the particular product that was used must be identified and analyzed for its particular THC level in order to assess the driver’s potential level of impairment.
Fatal Accidents Involving Marijuana Impaired Drivers
In Indiana and Illinois, there is a rising risk of a fatal collision caused by a driver impaired not by alcohol (DUI) but instead by marijuana impairment.
The danger of a serious or fatal accident caused by a driver impaired by marijuana is growing in our part of the country. It is important that we understand these dangers for ourselves and our loved ones.
If you believe that you or a loved one was seriously injured in a crash involving a driver impaired by marijuana, then your claim will involve individualized investigation and assessment. Drug impaired drivers (and others) may be liable under state negligence laws for injuries and damages resulting from a motor vehicle accident. Let’s be careful out there!
