New data released by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission shows the state has seen a dramatic increase in traffic deaths involving marijuana over the past five years.
In total, 60 percent of drivers in fatal accidents from 2010 to 2014 were tested for drugs, with 20 percent of those testing positive for marijuana.
In 2014, 85 percent of drivers who tested positive for marijuana were high when they crashed, up from less than half of drivers tested in 2010, with men ages 21 to 25 making the largest increase, the report said.
Marijuana can be detected in a user’s blood for days and even weeks after the actual high has worn off. This most recent state data measured the driver’s active THC levels after an accident. THC is the intoxicating compound in marijuana that creates a high.
Current Yakima County data only shows if drivers tested positive for marijuana, not whether they were high at the time. That data showed positive tests jumped from two drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2013 to eight drivers in 2014, the highest level since 2010.
With the passage of Initiative 502 legalizing recreational marijuana, a DUI blood-THC limit of 5 nanograms-per-milliliter of blood was established.
The data said at least one driver had tested for up to 70 ng/ml.
Alcohol contributed to half of marijuana-involved crashes as well, with most of those drivers exceeding the state’s 0.08 blood-alcohol-content limit.
Recent state laws make it illegal for drivers and passengers to use marijuana, and all open containers of weed must be kept either in a trunk or out of the cabin, similar to open-container alcohol laws.
Emphasis patrols will be hitting the roads today through Labor Day weekend, the report said, citing the increase in pot-involved traffic deaths as a contributing factor.
http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/st...cle_825257d4-3efc-5f6e-922b-570845ad589d.html
In total, 60 percent of drivers in fatal accidents from 2010 to 2014 were tested for drugs, with 20 percent of those testing positive for marijuana.
In 2014, 85 percent of drivers who tested positive for marijuana were high when they crashed, up from less than half of drivers tested in 2010, with men ages 21 to 25 making the largest increase, the report said.
Marijuana can be detected in a user’s blood for days and even weeks after the actual high has worn off. This most recent state data measured the driver’s active THC levels after an accident. THC is the intoxicating compound in marijuana that creates a high.
Current Yakima County data only shows if drivers tested positive for marijuana, not whether they were high at the time. That data showed positive tests jumped from two drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2013 to eight drivers in 2014, the highest level since 2010.
With the passage of Initiative 502 legalizing recreational marijuana, a DUI blood-THC limit of 5 nanograms-per-milliliter of blood was established.
The data said at least one driver had tested for up to 70 ng/ml.
Alcohol contributed to half of marijuana-involved crashes as well, with most of those drivers exceeding the state’s 0.08 blood-alcohol-content limit.
Recent state laws make it illegal for drivers and passengers to use marijuana, and all open containers of weed must be kept either in a trunk or out of the cabin, similar to open-container alcohol laws.
Emphasis patrols will be hitting the roads today through Labor Day weekend, the report said, citing the increase in pot-involved traffic deaths as a contributing factor.
http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/st...cle_825257d4-3efc-5f6e-922b-570845ad589d.html