The marijuana industry is coming at us fast and furious, demanding we legalize another harmful drug. It’s an issue about to come before voters, and it will change our country. Every single state that has commercialized marijuana has seen a multitude of public health concerns.
Alcohol used to be the main culprit when it came to impaired driving, but that drug is getting a run for its money from marijuana. So much so that recently the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched an awareness campaign.
In Colorado, a study by the state itself found of the 4,000 drivers tested for marijuana in 2016, 73 percent were found to have the drug in their system. That year alone more than 26,000 people were pulled over for DUI, but police say it was too expensive to test them all for pot.
Another study, by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, found marijuana-impaired fatalities doubled from 2012 to 2016 and one in five drivers are under the influence of marijuana. That’s up from one in 10 before legalization.
Minorities aren’t the only targets of Big Marijuana, so is another vulnerable population: children. They are frequently exposed to enticing ads from the industry and the pot-infused gummies, candies and sodas are colorful and attractive to the young eye.
But it’s not just the edibles that kids are going for, they’re also hitting the more traditional means of getting high. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the rate of young people using marijuana has increased in states that have legalized the drug.
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