It is unclear how the author inferred an increase from 3.4% to 12.1% in drivers who tested positive for cannabis only, from 2005 to 2014 [“Driving stoned: Marijuana legalization and drug-impaired driving [8],” BCMJ 2016;58:477-478]. According to the updated (2005–15) report from the Colorado Department of Transportation, it appears that the increase was actually from 3.4% in 2005 to 7.7% in 2014, much less than what is reported here. To the best of my knowledge, I am reading the same report that the author references in this commentary (www.codot.gov/safety/alcohol-and-impaired-driving/druggeddriving/drugged... [9]). Worth noting in this report, but not discussed in this commentary, is that this percentage had reached 8.9% in 2011 (before legalization took effect). I am concerned about this because the media reported extensively on this commentary, with a particular focus on the “tripling” of fatal car accidents among high drivers in Colorado postlegalization.
—Stephanie Lake, MSc
PhD student, UBC School of Population and Public Health, Vancouver
Links
[1] https://bcmj.org/cover/june-2017
[2] https://bcmj.org/node/87
[3] https://bcmj.org/print/letters/re-driving-stoned
[4] https://bcmj.org/printmail/letters/re-driving-stoned
[5] http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://bcmj.org/print/letters/re-driving-stoned&via=BCMedicalJrnl&tw_p=tweetbutton
[6] https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Re: Driving stoned&url=https://bcmj.org/print/letters/re-driving-stoned&via=BCMedicalJrnl&tw_p=tweetbutton&via=BCMedicalJrnl&tw_p=tweetbutton
[7] https://bcmj.org/javascript%3A%3B
[8] https://bcmj.org/council-health-promotion/driving-stoned-marijuana-legalization-and-drug-impaired-driving
[9] http://www.codot.gov/safety/alcohol-and-impaired-driving/druggeddriving/drugged-driver-statistics/view
[10] https://bcmj.org/modal_forms/nojs/webform/176
[11] https://bcmj.org/%3Finline%3Dtrue%23citationpop