According to authorities in Washington, the number of drivers who have tested positive for marijuana has increased since the state legalized the drug in January.
The Washington State Patrol says that THC was found in the bloodstream of 745 drivers who have been pulled over this year, a nine percent increase over the same period last year. Of those 745 people, a remarkable 420 were above the legal limit of five nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood.
Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana (CALM) isn't the least bit surprised by this. "Whenever you normalize drug use you're going to get instances like driving under the influence of drugs increase," said CALM South Carolina Branch chairman Scott Chipman.
Sgt. Jason Hicks of the Washington State Control says that recreational marijuana use is still too new of a phenomenon to declare that it's clearly responsible for the increase. Hicks also suggested that it's gotten easier for authorities to gain access to blood samples.
The New York Daily News adds that a required test for detecting people under the influence of drugs could also account for the increase.
[via New York Daily News]
