Table 4.
Studies looking at recreational cannabis legalization and driving related outcomes.
| Author | Year | Location | Date of legalization | Study design | Sample | Brief findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aydelotte et al | 2017 | Colorado & Washington | 2012 | Archival administrative data | N = 60 737 | Rates of fatal car crashes did not differ between both states pre-RCL and controls. Post-RCL, there were no significant changes in fatality rates. |
| Aydelotte et al | 2019 | Colorado & Washington | 2012 | Archival administrative data | N = 25 561 | Rates of fatal accidents were non-significantly higher in both states post-RCL than control states. |
| Borst et al | 2021 | California | 2016 | Archival administrative data | N = 11 491 | The rate of drivers testing positive for cannabis over time did increase. However, there was not a significant association with RCL, suggesting that the increasing rates were not driven by RCL. |
| Brubacher et al | 2022 | British Columbia | 2018 | Archival administrative data | N = 4339 | There was a significant increase in moderately injured drivers testing positive for THC with a THC level of 2 ng/ml and 5 ng/ml post-RCL. |
| Lane & Hall | 2018 | Colorado, Washington & Oregon | 2012 | Interrupted time series | CDC and Prevention WONDER | There was significant increase in traffic fatalities post-RCL. Neighboring states of Colorado also had significant increases in followed significant trend reductions, suggesting RCL creates a temporary increase in fatalities. |
| Nazif-Munoz et al | 2020 | Uruguay | 2013 | Interrupted time series | National Road Safety Agency of Uruguay and the Ministry of Transport and Public Work | RCL was associated with an immediate increase in light motor vehicle driver fatality rate in larger cities. However, there was no change in light motor vehicle driver fatality rates in rural areas. There was no significant change associated with RCL for motorcyclist fatality rates. |
Author, Author of article; Year, Publication year of article; Location, Jurisdiction article data was collected in; Date of Legalization, Year legalization was enacted in jurisdiction; Sample, Total N of article sample; CDC, Center for Disease Prevention; WONDER, Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research; RCL, Recreational Cannabis Legalization.