TAMPA, Fla. — Numbers just released by AAA could have Florida lawmakers thinking twice about legalizing pot anytime soon.
The statistics, which looked at the five years before and after the state of Washington legalized pot, show a sharp increase in the number of deadly crashes involving marijuana.
“These are certainly numbers that, I think, catch your attention,” AAA Spokesman Mark Jenkins said.
AAA knows it might take heat from those who want to see pot legalized, but the numbers, they say, can’t be ignored.
In Washington State, where marijuana-related deadly accidents had hovered at or around 9 percent for years, the rate has been increasing steadily since 2013 after pot was made legal. Now, marijuana is involved in more than 21 percent of that state’s deadly wrecks.
“We are just worried about impaired drivers on the road. Whether it’s legal or not, you know, if you use marijuana and that makes you a worse driver that we're concerned about it,” said Jenkins.
The timing of the study is important since Florida’s legislature is in session. Lawmakers have been hearing from lobbying groups who want to see recreational marijuana legalized here.
Florida already allows medical marijuana use.
“Ultimately, I think it’s just something that lawmakers have to have in the back of their minds when they were reviewing this,” Jenkins said.
Coincidentally, Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister was unveiling an impaired-driving exhibit Thursday at Tampa’s Museum of Science and industry.
The statistics, he says, don’t lie.
“You’re going to be impaired driving,” said Chronister. “And these numbers aren’t a surprise to anyone in law enforcement.”
A woman named Lauren, who we spoke with, says medical marijuana was the only thing that has helped her deal with chronic pain brought on by fibromyalgia. She thinks marijuana should be made legal and believes people who don’t drink and drive would have the same level of responsibility behind the wheel when it comes to pot.
“I think some people, they know their limits kind of thing,” Lauren said. “If you have one drink of alcohol, if you have one hit to make your body feel better, maybe if that’s the case.”
“That’s a myth. That’s false," Sheriff Chronister said. “Tell that to somebody who’s been killed or injured by somebody that’s been driving while under the influence of marijuana.”
Another challenge, says Sheriff Chronister, is enforcement. While they have field sobriety tests for alcohol, there’s no standardized way to measure whether someone who’s been using pot is too impaired to drive.
AAA says it does not take a position in Florida when it comes to legalizing marijuana. But, as an auto club, there is an obligation, they say, to present facts and statistics that can be gleaned from states which have already decided to go down that road.
“Whatever you do in the comfort of your own home it’s up to you,” said Jenkins. “But, whenever that spills out into the roadway and creates potentially hazardous conditions, that’s when AAA really gets concerned.”
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