As Democratic state lawmakers are looking to legalize recreational marijuana in Minnesota, one official in Olmsted County is raising concerns over the law’s potential effect on road safety and other issues.
Last week, DFL members of the Minnesota Legislature unveiled their proposed bill for legal adult-use recreational marijuana. Committee hearings for the bill are scheduled to start as soon as this week.
And after last November’s midterm election saw DFLers gain control of both chambers of the Legislature, many lawmakers have indicated they believe legal marijuana could pass this session. Gov. Tim Walz has already indicated he would sign such legislation.
But the proposed bill has not been without pushback. In a Friday Facebook post, Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson raised concerns about how legalizing marijuana could affect road safety.
“How many more people will our state legislators say is ok to be killed on our highways by more impaired drivers on our roads?” Torgerson wrote.
“Will it be acceptable in your family if a family member is a victim of a high driver enjoying his legalized freedom to use MJ and drive, but take the life of your son or daughter on their way home from school, or a game, or concert?”
But what does available data say about impaired driving incidents in places that have already legalized recreational marijuana? It’s complicated.
Since Colorado became one of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012, citations for impaired driving in which marijuana was perceived as being at least one of the substances involved increased by 120% from 2014 to 2020, according to a report from the Colorado Department of Public Safety.
But that same report notes that since legalization, more law enforcement officers in Colorado have been trained to recognize marijuana impairment.
In Canada, which legalized recreational marijuana in 2018, cases of drug-impaired driving rose 43% in the first year after legalization – and impaired driving overall increased by 19%, according to the Washington Post.
Enforcement policies in states with legalized recreational marijuana also vary.Â
Some states have a zero tolerance policy for driving with any amount of THC in the body, while others have set limits on the amount, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Â
Torgerson also made the claim that legal marijuana would increase the population of people experiencing homelessness by “more than 100%.”
Researchers in Colorado looked at that issue in 2018 when they surveyed inmates in city and county jails who were experiencing homelessness. The results, which were published in CNN, found that of the inmates who had come to Colorado after legalization, 35% said they had come to the state at least in part due to the marijuana laws.
But because a majority of inmates surveyed had already been living in Colorado prior to legalization, the survey only looks at a small sample size.
Officials in Denver also questioned claims that marijuana laws had had an effect on homelessness in the area. According to 9News in Denver, at a 2020 meeting, city officials pointed to data that showed homelessness in the city had declined from 2012 to 2019.Â
Be the first to comment