You know that one friend who swears on her fucking grandma’s grave that she’s a better driver when she’s high?
Well, she may not be wrong.
A study by Columbia University has found that the rate of traffic fatalities has actually decreased in seven states where medical marijuana is now legal. And in general, states where medical marijuana is legal now have lower rates of traffic fatalities than the states where medical marijuana is still illegal. This is not a drill.
It may seem fucking crazy, but it’s backed by 20 years of research and nearly 1.2 million accidents dating from 1985-2014. The biggest drop-off in accidents comes in the age bracket of drivers aged 15-24, and then closely followed by the 25-44 age bracket.
So how the fuck is this happening? The esteemed researchers of Columbia University have a few ideas:
- People are getting high AF on their couches and not driving around.
- Stoners are more responsible than blackout drunks.
- More weed = more paranoia of cops, so again, people are getting high AF on their couches and not driving around.
So is smoking making you a better driver, and should you light up before driving on a road trip so you don’t get arrested? Probs not exactly in those terms and definintely not, respectively, but still. What a time to be alive.