Dr David Nathan, Founder and Board President of Doctors For Cannabis Regulation, and a guest on my show, commented on the idea that traffic fatalities would rise of marijuana were legalized. "The issue is it's not just about cannabis but about the use of all drugs with people on the roads, we've gotta find better ways to keep people on the roads safe", said Nathan.
As Nathan noted, "The question of drugged driving is one that I regard as being one of the most serious ones, because it's on that we don't have a simple answer to."
Nathan compared driving drunk to driving under the influence of weed.
"The increased risk of a crash with alcohol is 12 to 15 times the risk if you're not drunk, the risk with cannabis if you are under the influence is about two to three times the risk if you hadn't used it, that's similar to sedatives like opioids and valium and even stimulants can impair your driving to a degree" said Nathan.
Nathan likes the idea of many more drug recognition experts and have them available all the time anywhere. As he noted, "It won't be cheap, but it's a lot cheaper than keeping so many people incarcerated for lower level marijuana possession."