Medical Marijuana Laws, Traffic Fatalities, and Alcohol Consumption

Abstract

To date, 17 states have passed medical marijuana laws, yet very little is known about their effects. The current study examines the relationship between the legalization of medical marijuana and traffic fatalities, the leading cause of death among Americans ages 5 through 34. The first full year after coming into effect, legalization is associated with an 8 to 11 percent decrease in traffic fatalities. The impact of legalization on traffic fatalities involving alcohol is larger and estimated with more precision than its impact on traffic fatalities that do not involve alcohol. Legalization is also associated with sharp decreases in the price of marijuana and alcohol consumption, a pattern of results consistent with the hypothesis that marijuana and alcohol are substitutes. Because alternative mechanisms cannot be ruled out, the negative relationship between legalization and alcohol-related traffic fatalities does not necessarily imply that driving under the influence of marijuana is safer than driving under the influence of alcohol.

Texting, Drugs and Driving: A “Triple Threat” To Driving Safety?

“…More recent studies, however, have demonstrated effects of marijuana on driving performance and also the Odds Ratio for causing a vehicle crash; in these studies the magnitude of the normal marijuana effect typically was dose-or concentration-dependent, yet the magnitude of the effect was considerably lower than that observed with ethanol [31,38]. Anderson et al [39] have argued that the reduced effect of THC on driving performance compared to EtOH is partially responsible for the decline in traffic fatalities following initiation of medical marijuana across several states, since legalization of medical marijuana is associated with a 10-15% decrease in fatalities in which at least one driver involved had a positive BAC level [39].…”

Do Minimum Wages Really Increase Youth Drinking and Drunk Driving?

“…In Table 6A, we re-estimate our 11 This measure is only available in the BRFSS. Following Anderson et al (2013), we calculate number of drinks consumed per month using respondents' answers to the questions, "During the past month, how many days per week or per month did you drink any alcoholic beverages, on the average?" and " On days when you drink, about how many drinks do you drink on average?"…”

“…While a large body of literature examines the effects of alcohol and drug policies on drunk driving-related fatalities (Anderson, Hansen, and Rees 2013;Carpenter and Dobkin 2009;Carpenter 2004;Markowitz and Tauras 2009), ABC provide the only evidence of the effect of minimum wage increases on youth or adult drunk driving. There are a few studies suggesting that income in adulthood is positively related to drunk driving (see, for example, Impinen et al 2011), though most treat income as econometrically exogenous.…”

The rise of marijuana and the fall of cocaine in the United States: for better, for worse?

“…None the less, while recent studies have raised questions about the serious health harms associated recently with cannabis use [7,8], there are probably measurable community safety risks due to motor vehicle accidents and other harms of cannabis intoxication [9]. If we accept that there are some harms of increasing cannabis use, how should this be interpreted in the context of increasing availability of medicinal marijuana in the United States?…”

“…Uncertainties also pertain to potential causes of increasing use of marijuana in the United States, as both Canada and the United States have seen a proliferation of medical marijuana programs but have seen divergent patterns of cannabis use [12,13]. Recent evidence concerning the impact of such programs on the prevalence of marijuana use also appears to be mixed [9,14,15].…”