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Denver Post: Report shows fewer traffic fatalities after states pass medical-pot laws
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Written by John Ingold
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Wednesday, 30 November 2011
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The passage of state medical-marijuana laws
is associated with a subsequent drop in the rate of traffic fatalities,
according to a newly released study by two university professors...
Rees said the main reason for the drop appears to be that
medical-marijuana laws mean young people spend less time drinking and
more time smoking cannabis. Legalization of medical marijuana, the
researchers report, is associated with a 12-percent drop in the
alcohol-related fatal-crash rate and a 19-percent decrease in the
fatality rate of people in their 20s, according to the study.
The study also found that medical- marijuana legalization is associated with a drop in beer sales.
"The result that comes through again and again and again is (that)
young adults . . . drink less when marijuana is legalized and traffic
fatalities go down," Rees said... Mason Tvert, the head of the pro-
marijuana-legalization group SAFER, said the study suggests legalizing
marijuana would be beneficial in unexpected ways...
Read the entire story at: http://www.denverpost.com/news/marijuana/ci_19437417
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