Fatal Car Crashes Involving Marijuana On the Rise

The fact that fatal car crashes involving marijuana is on the rise is disturbing. What's even more disturbing is the fact that fatal crashes involving pot have tripled in the last decade - and that's even before the state of Colorado approved recreational marijuana use.

The report on Yahoo cites research from Columbia University and quotes :

Currently, one of nine drivers involved in fatal crashes would test positive for marijuana.

He goes on to say that if the trend continues,

If this trend continues, in five or six years non-alcohol drugs will overtake alcohol to become the most common substance involved in deaths related to impaired driving.

Given the fact that the research comes from six states where marijuana use is illegal. One can't help but assume in a state that condones its use, that traffic fatalities involving marijuana will surely go up.

Is this what the residents of Colorado had in mind when they voted to legalize recreational pot? I would seriously doubt it. And while research on the subject of drugged driving has been fairly limited, simple common sense seems to indicate that pot and driving don't mix.

Sure, according to the law you are not allowed to smoke pot in public, or drive while stoned. But, by giving a blanket stamp of approval on the use of marijuana, it's assumed that people who smoke pot are going to drive stoned.

Yes, they could have done that before, but now, it seems that pot users will be even more likely to drive with much less trepidation.

Only time will tell if marijuana related traffic deaths in Colorado will go up now that weed smoking is legal.

Unfortunately, it will be too late for the victims of these accidents, who will have died needlessly, and unfortunately, will not be able to look into the eyes of  each Colorado resident who voted for legalized pot and ask them 'Why did I have to die?' I only hope I am not one of them.