Critics of a recreational marijuana amendment on this year’s ballot in Florida are warning it will lead to more car crashes and traffic deaths on the state’s roads.
Do studies about traffic safety in states where weed is already legal back that up?
A review of academic research in the past five years that analyzed crash rates and severity in other states before and after legalization of recreational marijuana supports these concerns, showing there is an association between legalization and more injuries and deaths from car accidents. One study suggested legalizing recreational marijuana could lead to more than 500 new traffic deaths in Florida every year.
“I don’t want more crashes. I don’t want more deaths. We need safer roads,” said Sen. Jonathan Martin, R- Fort Myers, a personal injury lawyer and former prosecutor, “And not a single state got safer when they legalized recreational marijuana.”
The Florida Department of Transportation produced a campaign advertisement during the election warning against driving while high on weed.
“DUI crashes increase in states with legalized marijuana, putting everyone at risk," the narrator in the ad said.
The use of state funds to sway voters against the amendment – opposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and his supporters – was one example of the governor using public money to try to influence the outcome of this week’s elections. DeSantis also used state funds to persuade voters against an abortion rights amendment on the ballot this week.
“In states where marijuana has been legalized, there is a troubling rise in fatalities linked to marijuana-impaired driving,” said the governor’s wife, Casey DeSantis, during a press conference last month. She said deaths from driving under the influence of marijuana increased 22% in Oregon and 14% in California.
“In every state that legalized marijuana, we’ve seen an increase in crime, an increase in vehicle fatalities, an increase in vehicle crashes,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
Supporters of the marijuana amendment cited a 2022 academic study of car insurance rates in states that had legalized medical marijuana, not recreational marijuana. It found that premiums dropped, especially in areas with a higher prevalence of drunk driving before medical legalization. The study’s authors specifically warned against applying their findings to the public policy debate about legalizing recreational marijuana.
“Consumption habits may differ under the two regimes,” the study said.
The spokesman for the pro-marijuana group, Steve Vancore of Smart and Safe Florida, said earlier studies were flawed because they looked at data when marijuana tourism was popular, skewing state figures on crashes by including out-of-state drivers.
“What they're not showing you is in the last four years, now that we have half of America has legalized marijuana, marijuana tourism is no longer a thing,” Vancore said. “So all of those data points have leveled off.”
Vancore said injury crash rates saw a slight uptick in some early adopter states but fatal accidents never increased. He was unable to provide any evidence of the statement, which is inconsistent with recent studies showing increases in fatal crashes in states that legalized recreational weed.
“I’ve seen countless lives lost and destroyed because of drunk and impaired driving,” said Martin, the state senator. “So, that was one of the first things that I thought about when I saw that Amendment 3 could definitely change the habits of millions of Floridians.”
Martin cited a study last year by Canadian researchers showing that traffic accidents requiring emergency room visits and involving marijuana increased by 475% between 2010 and 2021. “Cannabis-involved traffic injuries have increased over time and that the commercialization of cannabis markets may result in further increases,” the study said.
Another study last year, published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, concluded that once retail sales began after legalization, fatalities jumped by 2.2 per billion miles driven. Early adopter states had bigger traffic fatality increases.
A 2022 study published in the National Library of Medicine found a 6.5% increase in injury crashes and a 2.3% increase in fatal crashes after legalization of recreational marijuana between 2009 and 2019. It said the onset of retail sales of marijuana did not cause additional significant changes.
A 2021 study looked at fatal motor vehicle collisions and associated deaths in areas of the U.S. with legalized recreational marijuana. It found an increased risk for fatal motor vehicle collisions of 15% and an increase in associated deaths of 16%. The study said there was no evidence indicating these increases were temporary.
Florida reported 3,403 fatalities from all crashes in 2023. A 16% increase would add 545 more deaths every year.
Martin, the state senator, also predicted that car insurance premiums will increase due to the expected rise in crashes.
“If you think car insurance is expensive now in the state of Florida, wait,” he said, “wait until the fatalities and the injuries skyrocket.”
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This story was produced by Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. The reporter can be reached at julialejnar@ufl.edu. You can donate to support our students here.
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