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in crash risk that is associated with the legalized recreational use
of marijuana,” says David Harkey, president of the IIHS-HLDI.
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Traffi c fatalities have also increased in states that legalized
recreational marijuana. A 2019 study of US states by research-

ers in Australia found that traffi c deaths increased in three places
that legalized recreational marijuana—Colorado, Washington,
and Oregon—as well as their surrounding states, because peo-
ple drive across state lines to buy marijuana. The neighboring
states include Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and
Utah (Colorado neighbors); British Columbia (Washington neigh-
bor); and California and Nevada (Oregon neighbors). “In the year
following implementation of recreational cannabis sales, traffi c
fatalities temporarily increased by an average of one additional
traffi c fatality per million residents in both legalizing US states
of Colorado, Washington and Oregon and in
their neighbouring jurisdictions,” write the
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“What we’re seeing is a researchers. In all, there were 170 additional
defi nite increase in crash traffi c deaths in the year after marijuana was
risk that is associated
with the legalized rec- legalized in each state.
reational use of mari- After one year, the numbers returned to
juana.” 36 normal, leading the researchers to conclude
that the increase was temporary. They specu-
— David Harkey, president of the
Insurance Institute for Highway late that the spike in deaths occurred because
Safety, Highway Loss Data
Institute there were suddenly more drivers who were
inexperienced with driving under the infl uence
of marijuana. It is also possible that news cov-
erage of high-profi le accidents involving marijuana use brought
awareness to the problem of driving under the infl uence. “We’re
going to learn a lot over the next couple of years,” says Benjamin
Hansen, an economist at the University of Oregon who has stud-
ied the effects of legalization on traffi c accidents. “Especially as
the most populous states legalize marijuana. That’ll give us a lot
more statistical precision in estimating the risks. Right now, we’re
still trying to play catch-up.” 38

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