Medical Marijuana a Contributing Factor in Impaired Driving Accidents in Modesto

 A recent article in the Sacramento Bee reported that fatal car accidents in Modesto, Stockton and throughout the state of California have dropped for the fifth consecutive year. According to the article, the California Office of Traffic Safety reported 2,715 deaths on roadways last year, a 12 percent decrease from the previous year and nearly 40 percent decrease from 2005 when an all-time high was reported.

Normally we would find these statistics commendable but with the economic downturn and high unemployment rates, our Modesto car accident attorneys know that less traffic has a lot to do with it.

Very little has changed in terms of the number of distracted drivers, speeders, drunk drivers, and now drivers who operate under the influence of legally prescribed medical marijuana. If you have been involved in an accident, an experienced attorney can help determine the cause of your accident and who is responsible for damages.

Legal use of medical marijuana has become an issue in more and more car accident cases. The Los Angeles Times recently reported about a man sentenced to 10 years and 8 months in jail after pleading guilty to manslaughter. The medical marijuana user had run off the road and killed a school teacher while she was jogging.

Little is known about the effects of how much marijuana is needed to impair a driver's ability to operate a vehicle but California is one of 16 states that allow the drug to be prescribed for medicinal purposes. After performing roadside checks the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration assessed that over 16 percent of all nighttime drivers stopped nationwide were under the influence of legal or illegal narcotics. Approximately half of the drivers were under the influence of marijuana. Each year, California reports roughly 1,000 fatalities and injuries caused by drugged drivers. From 2000-2009, deaths in drug-related crashes where alcohol was not a factor increased 55 percent.

California passed Proposition 215 in 1996 which allowed residents to use medical marijuana legally.

When comparing the effects of marijuana to alcohol, much research still needs to be done. Learning how much drug in your system is needed to affect your ability to react and make quick decisions is critical at this point.

"A lot of effort has gone into the study of drugged driving and marijuana, because that is the most prevalent drug, but we are not nearly to the point where we are with alcohol," said Jeffrey P. Michael, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's impaired-driving director. "We don't know what level of marijuana impairs a driver."

One thing is for sure. With more states considering passing legislation to permit medical marijuana, a national standard will need to be set similar to blood alcohol content being illegal at .08. To date, each state has a different allowable limit which leaves it up to law enforcement to decide if someone is impaired beyond their ability to drive safely.