Pot-Positive Traffic Fatalities Up 100% in Colorado

Cybercast News Service ^ | November 26, 2014 - 9:48 AM | Cully Stimson

[Olog-hai]

… The data coming out of Colorado is exhibit A on why voters should reject legalization efforts. Even the Democratic governor of Colorado, John Hickenlooper, said that legalizing marijuana in Colorado was “reckless.” As I have written at Heritage, pot-positive traffic fatalities have gone up 100 percent since voters legalized pot in Colorado. This is true despite the fact that overall traffic fatalities in Colorado have gone down since 2007.

A report by a federal grant-funded agency in Colorado found seven specific negative side effects that pot legalization has caused in Colorado:

1. the majority of DUI drug arrests involve marijuana;
2. youth consumption of marijuana has increased;
3. drug-related suspensions/expulsions increased 32 percent over a 5-year period and a majority was for marijuana;
4. an increase in college users;
5. almost 50 percent of Denver arrestees tested positive for marijuana;
6. marijuana-related emergency room visits increased 57 percent from 2011-2013; and
7. marijuana-related hospitalizations has increased 82 percent since 2008.

Perhaps people are also aware of new scientific studies pointing to the inherent dangers of marijuana. For example, the British health research journal The Lancet Psychiatry recently concluded that teens who smoke marijuana are “also 60 percent less likely to graduate college and seven times more likely to attempt suicide.” …

[Olog-hai]

I’m not fond of arguments against alcohol based on it presumedly being “far worse” than cannabis. Reminds me too much of Sharia-like arguments. Besides, alcohol is way more studied than cannabis is with respect to negative effects, and as far as Christian doctrine goes, the Bible has many injuctions against drunkenness.

Of course, the government making anything “controlled” or “illegal” will simply create a black market for same. It’s not about the merits or detriments of anything. The banning is similar to the banning of incandescent lightbulbs, or of course guns or other weapons.

[SpaceBar]

A week without a lively pot thread is like a day without sunshine.

[chris37]

Here’s the thing, Secret Agent Man. I’m going to try to do my best to explain why laws with consequences do not matter in the instance of addiction.

There is a drug out there called Krokodil. It’s a cheap knock of heroin out of Russia. It’s made with coedine pills and gasoline and red phosphorus and iodine. I am not sure of the exact ingredient list or process as I have never done this or known anyone who has done this, but it seems generally really unwise to shoot such a concoction into one’s veins.

Yet people do this. And the side effects of it are astounding. Over a course of two years, it will rot you from the inside out.

I could link videos that are so unbelievavble that they may well make you vomit in disgust, so I won’t link those, but if you google krokodil you can see it.

So, if one considers that use of this drug will cause you to watch the flesh fall off of your bones before you watch your own skeltal leg be amputated, and you don’t even need anesthesia because the nevers in that leg died long ago, then it is hard to imagine how jail or fines for the same activity even matters at all.

Clearly there is something driving this behavior that is for more imprtant to the addict than whether or not they are going to jail.

Not only does the chemical addiction itself eclipse every other consideration imaginable, one also has to wonder what coused a person to walk down this path to Hell in the first place.

What trouble can be so great that they choose to escape it by injecting gasoline into their veins?

This is something that is far outside the scope of law.

[MUDDOG]

Heavy users begin to experience paranoia which would explain instances of aggression.

Great point! That could definitely be a factor.

[eldoradude]

From the article: More to the point, Colorado traffic fatalities between 2007 and 2012 involving operators testing positive for marijuana use increased 100 percent over that period—from 39 in 2007 up to 78 in 2012.

IOW, the peasant nailed it.

Are YOU stoned? Or did you forget the /s tag...Here's what the peasant said:

Typically, this kind of statistic means the total number went from 1 to 2, and that it was a passenger that tested positive.

[cuban leaf]

Though if he runs up medical expenses or liabilities that he cannot pay, who does? We all know.

Connecticut wrapper?

---

That is true of everyone, regardless of the cause of medical expenses.

[UnwashedPeasant]

"From the article:
'More to the point, Colorado traffic fatalities between 2007 and 2012 involving operators testing positive for marijuana use increased 100 percent over that period—from 39 in 2007 up to 78 in 2012.'"

As far as I can tell, recreation pot was legalized in Colorado effective September, 2013, so that would have no impact on the stats from 2007 to 2012.

The choice of 2007 and 2012 looks highly selective. Maybe 2007 was abnormally low.

[holyscroller]

I rejoice with you Chris37. I believe God brought you out of your addiction so you could help lead others out by showing them what Jesus did for you. Have you asked Him to bring others across your path that He will allow you to help? You have a wonderful witness Chris, and I believe He will use you mightily.

[JRandomFreeper]

An 'adventure' is someone a long way away being miserable.

Not something I want to experience personally, thanks. ;)

/johnny

[cuban leaf]

I’m actually with you on that.

[gogeo]

I agree 100%.

[samtheman]

I've witnessed a few pot referendums, including the last successful one.

I've wondered why proponents...

1) Claim there's no negative side effects to smoking weed.

2) Pledge to dedicate X% of the revenues to addiction treatment.

Kind of like the Globull Warmists who say:

1. Here's why there's no actual warming yet and what is masking it...

2. Here are all the horrible effects of warming that we are witnessing right now...

[UnwashedPeasant]

"Are YOU stoned? Or did you forget the /s tag...Here's what the peasant said.."

Hey dude, I was mighty close. And I didn't even read the article.

Those are some misleading stats. Figures don't lie, but liars figure.

[GeronL]

are there things you want banned or should everything be legal on planet Chaos

[samtheman]

My bottom line on this issue is: I think marijuana is bad and I think the legalization of marijuana is bad but I think the militarization of police and the confiscation of property that go with the War on Drugs is much, much worse.

I want the swat teams gone. I want the property seizures ended.

We’re just going to have to deal with the public health problems of more addicts but that’s easier to deal with that than the loss of liberty that comes with more hitlers.

I’d rather have more addicts and fewer hitlers.

[Olog-hai]

On top of that, our Founding Fathers were big on private morality being a primary pillar of society—which means that moral character of individuals is paramount, and the traditional family is a necessity.

When John Adams said that the US Constitution is “wholly inadequate” to ruling anyone other than a “moral and religious people”, undoubtedly the corollary he was indicating was that a libertine and incontinent (Godless) people required a draconian tyranny to rule over them, and was warning against the people becoming such (but take note how such libertines demand such tyrannical government to be over them, to their detriment and doom either way).

[jsanders2001]

Win / win for the government. They make big bucks taxing marijuana AND traffic tickets. Not planned at all. Side benefit is it reduces pushback and sheepleizes the people to make it easier to influence and control them.

[JRandomFreeper]

Anything else isn't the topic of discussion. Using the force of Law to criminalize marijuana is the topic of discussion.

/johnny

[GeronL]

The militariation of the police is bad. That doesn’t have much to do with the “war on drugs”, it has to do with the growth of tyrannical government.

Our government is becoming a tyrant police state and that is happening even if all drugs were legal.

[Proud2BeRight]

Dope for the dopes.