Study Claims Marijuana Usage Nearly Doubles Risk of Car Crash

According to a study conducted at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, smoking marijuana within 3 hours of driving a vehicle nearly doubles the risk of accident. Researchers studied 49,411 accident victims and calculated the odds of a wreck based on incidents where only cannabis was reported used, within 3 hours of the incident. Though dosage levels were not tested, the study found fatally injured drivers to have higher levels of tetrahydrocannabinol in their system.

Commentary
My hope is that the group from Dalhousie continues their studies into marijuana risks and examines levels of impairment compared with dosages. Certainly it is intuitive that running a machine while under the influence of an intoxicant is more dangerous than being sober, but with more states legalizing usage, we need to know the threshold between intoxication and safe driving. A .08 blood-alcohol level has long been the standard for alcohol intoxication, but we need a harder look into marijuana intoxication and I applaud this university's efforts.

Texas Wrongful Death Attorney Michael Grossman