As state lawmakers consider legalizing marijuana for recreational adult use, some Delawareans are thinking about the implications for impaired driving in the First State. “There is the potential for legalizing marijuana to make the roads less safe for a couple reasons,” said Tammy Anderson, a University of Delaware sociology professor focused on alcohol, drugs and crime.
“There is an emergent problem developing called drugged driving. In some respects, drugged driving is approaching rates of drunk driving,” Ms. Anderson said. “We sort of have an awareness right now of drunk driving. There’s been this development of an ethic that I should not drive after I’ve been drinking.” She said fewer people have developed that same sensibility when it comes to driving after smoking weed.. Ms. Anderson said alcohol, a depressant, impacts people in a very different way from marijuana that it’s hard for experts to classify marijuana in the same way as other drugs like heroin or cocaine. While those are straightforward narcotics and stimulants, respectively, marijuana straddles several categories. “It has both sedative and dissociative qualities to it,” the professor said. “Technically, it’s classified as a mild hallucinogen, but it, of course, has sedative qualities to it. That’s what makes it a hybrid in terms of its effects on the brain.”
- I would be really interested to see just how many of these car accidents they’re talking about is related solely to the use of marijuana. In the article, it reads a lot of accidents are caused by the use of alcohol and the use of drugs. I definitely agree with that on alcohol and maybe even some drugs, but we’re dealing with marijuana here that is the subject at hand, not alcohol or other drugs, so what are the numbers of marijuana-related accidents? — Jack Raymond
- Driving impaired in any fashion, including sleep-impaired, is dangerous for everyone. — David Kist
- Studies have shown increases in car accidents since legalization. — Daniel Peters
- This is a conundrum that will need to be addressed, as there will be a need to determine whether a driver is under the influence — Joseph Anthony
- Remember, these dispensers are not tested for content, only taxes. — Daniel Peters
- It does impair driving. Just as alcohol, it is a depressant, which slows you and, for some, leads to falling asleep. — Susanne L. Turner
- Delaware will never legalize weed. They have to get their cut of the cake. The bill they are proposing is a government-sanctioned business and weed shops will be their subcontractors. Legalize it fully or leave it be. — Erin Chronister
- If they legalize it, they will get a tremendous “cut of cake,” as you put it. Colorado made so much their first year that they were able to completely revamp their infrastructure. The government is making so much money that they are literally making new programs just to justify the expenditures and also helping revitalize some of the worse-off areas. — Daniel Webber
- I’m all for legalizing it, even though I don’t do it. — Kris A. Glanden
- So you think they’re already not driving? — Kenny Riley
- Read the papers. There are always drivers in Delaware who are stopped and found to have three, four, five previous DUI convictions already. State didn’t seem to care much at two, then three. Think they’ll worry about weed smokers? — Gerald Jerry Rice
