Pubdate: Sun, 05 Jun 2016
Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ)
Section: AZ I See It
Copyright: 2016 The Arizona Republic
Contact: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/sendaletter.html
Website: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24
Author: Todd A. Griffith, AZ I See It
Note: Todd A. Griffith was a forensic scientist for more than 45 years,
including 20 years as director of the Arizona Department of Public
Safety Crime Laboratory System.

MY TURN: LEGAL MARIJUANA IN ARIZONA WOULD MEAN MORE DEATHS, CRASHES

Scientist: Why would Arizona voters approve an initiative that
protects drivers stoned on marijuana, even if they cause crashes and deaths?

In my profession, I have seen too much death, injury and damage caused
by individuals driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs.

Marijuana is the most prevalent drug causing impairment after alcohol.
It contributes substantially to DUI carnage, even though statistics
indicate only about 8 percent of the population regularly uses marijuana.

This can only mean that Arizona will also face major increases in
death and injury from marijuana DUI crashes if marijuana becomes a
legal recreational drug here.

That legal marijuana will substantially increase impaired driving is
not an opinion; it is demonstrated by facts from Colorado and
Washington, where marijuana is legal.

What happened in other states

In Colorado, marijuana-related traffic deaths increased 92 percent
from just after marijuana was commercialized there - a rate nearly 12
times higher than the increase in all traffic deaths.

In Washington state, it was recently reported that fatalities among
drivers using marijuana have doubled since legalization there.

DIAZ: Legal pot is easy, but not the solution

There is absolutely no reason to believe that if marijuana is
legalized in Arizona, death and injury due to marijuana-impaired
drivers would not also increase along those same trajectories.

The damage inflicted on families is tremendous, but it isn't the only
impact. There's also financial damage. Alcohol-related crashes caused
an economic loss of more than $521 million in Arizona in 2014,
according to Arizona Motor Vehicle Crash Facts.

The additional DUI crashes that would result from increasing marijuana
will add many more millions in economic loss.

Marijuana isn't safer than alcohol

Marijuana advocates routinely argue that marijuana is safer than
alcohol. They're wrong. Marijuana affects cognitive functions just as
alcohol does. It impairs drivers through distortion of time and
distance, loss of coordination, increased reaction times and inability
to maintain lateral travel.

Also, this argument implies that people would switch from alcohol to
marijuana because it is "safer." That wasn't the experience in
Colorado, where alcohol DUI deaths remained relatively constant while
marijuana DUI deaths rose 92 percent. And alcohol sales have gone up
since legalization in Colorado, not down.

PROSECUTOR: Safe pot? Tell that to kids that died

In addition, Arizona statistics show that marijuana and alcohol
routinely appear together in DUI drivers. Legalization of marijuana
will only encourage greater use of both impairing substances. There
are now entrepreneurs in marijuana-legalized states who are planning
to sell alcohol infused with marijuana.

The pairing of marijuana and alcohol is particularly disturbing,
because when combined they interact to impair driving to a greater
degree than each individually.

Why protect drivers from prosecution?

Legalized marijuana will result in huge increases in DUI crashes,
deaths and costs to the citizens of Arizona. However, there is a final
concern that makes the situation more dire.

The marijuana-legalization initiative not only legalizes marijuana but
protects marijuana-impaired drivers from prosecution. It expressly
prohibits the state from prosecuting impaired drivers based solely on
a per se impairment level for marijuana, such as Arizona's 0.08 blood
alcohol level.

MORE: AAA questions science behind DUI laws

Why would any voter wish to support a marijuana-legalization
initiative that protects drivers stoned on marijuana and will cause
huge increases in DUI marijuana vehicular crashes and deaths?

I do not want to pass these terrible impacts on to Arizona's citizens
and future generations. I urge Arizonans to resoundingly defeat this
initiative.

Todd A. Griffith was a forensic scientist for more than 45 years,
including 20 years as director of the Arizona Department of Public
Safety Crime Laboratory System.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D