(KLAS) — A new study says car crashes are up in the first four states that legalized recreational marijuana.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute says crashes have increased by as much as 6% in Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington since they legalized recreational marijuana.
Recreational marijuana is now legal in 9 states and Washington D.C. and medical marijuana is legal in as many as 30 states.
Researchers looked at crashes from 2012 when recreational use was first legal in Colorado and Washington thru 2017 when retail sales began here in Nevada.
The study admits that increased crash statistics can’t be tied directly to marijuana, but crashes are higher compared to where marijuana is still illegal.
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