American Society is currently undergoing a period of social revolution. From legislation granting marriage equality to the LGBTQ community, questioning the Voting Rights Act and Debating about the legalization of Marijuana, the government is now faced with the important task of dealing with law surrounding these revolutionary social concepts. One issue the legalization of Marijuana, is currently being dealt with and lawmakers are are faced with some important decisions. A main concern regarding the legalization of marijuana is how will such a law impact driving patterns and how can we address these changes to ensure road safety? The most straightforward answer to the first question is legalization of Marijuana will result in more impaired drivers. If more people have access to a substance than logically (if a sample of an appropriate population is taken) more people will be convicted of a DWI(driving while …show more content…
According to the Denver Post, Marijuana related traffic stops comprise of over 12% of all traffic infractions in Colorado. The same article states that 21% of weed consumers are unaware they could be charged for driving while under the influence. With easier access and a severe lack of education regarding Intoxicated driving, legalizing marijuana will cause an increased amount of impaired drivers. The next level to this issue is how can we address intoxicated drivers and discourage them from engaging in such harmful behavior? An effective way to address individuals who drive intoxicated would be to install IID (Ignition Interlock Device), a device that restricts the use of a car if the driver’s breath test shows intoxication. However such a device may cause privacy issues (if test data is collected) and
Is legalizing marijuana a good step to take ? There has been many questions as to what will happen to the community. Will the community grow from this new law? Or will this end in a horrible problem? Although marijuana is a drug, it does not cause harm to your body like alcohol does. Legalizing marijuana in the states of the U.S should be done because it can be used for medical reason, it is not harmful to the body, and police want strong relationships with their community.
Because marijuana is illegal in the United States and decades of government sponsored anti-marijuana programs, it’s often associated with crime though there is no association between weed use and crime. Although there are studies that link marijuana and crime, its almost all focused on illegal distribution. People who are high don’t commit violence. Its common knowledge that a person should never take alcohol or weed and drive, but although its true that marijuana affects the ability to drive, it is not as dangerous as drunk or buzz driving. A recent study show that marijuana use increases the odds of a fatal crash by 83 percent while driving with a blood alcohol level of at least .05 increased the chance of being in a crash by 575 percent. It is clear that the roads are threatened more by alcohol than weed but society is also affected by both in very different ways. Colorado is a state where weed is legal to those twenty one and older and offers a look on marijuana’s effects on society such as states with medical marijuana painkiller overdoses deaths have dropped 25 percent due to people substituting their prescriptions for weed (Christensen, Wilson "Is Marijuana as Safe as -- or Safer than -- Alcohol?”). Alcohol does not lower the number of painkiller but because
A DUI conviction is a permanent part of ones driving record. Even though alcohol related accidents are on the decline, statistics show that a drunk driver kills someone every forty-five minutes. More so, fifty to seventy percent of drunk drivers whose licenses are suspended continue to drive. In 2000, alcohol related crashes cost the public $114.3 billion dollars! Drunk driving carries with it serious penalties from the court system and car insurance companies. One moment of fun can turn into a lifetime of heartache and tragedy. Therefore, it is not worth the risk. Possible prevention measures and solutions are not only for the law enforcement, but for the public as well. Drunk drivers face a hardcore court system, which is intolerant of DUI. Stricter penalties such as automatic licenses revocation, mandatory jail sentencing, vehicle impounding, and licenses plate confiscating are just a few ways the judicial system is handling the DUI problem. Programs such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Students Against Drunk Driving have led the way to bringing awareness to society. People need to be responsible and supervise their consumption to ensure that they do not drink too much. They have a moral and a legal responsibility to make sure of this. It is always best to have a designated driver. The most effective way people can prevent driving drunk is to make a personal decision not to drink
Impaired driving is a world wide problem that people are searching for a solution too, but it is very hard to find. So we wonder, what
Legalizing marijuana for health and municipal purposes in the United States Of America, personally I think it's a great idea. A lot of other people don't think legalizing marijuana is the greatest idea in the world, they think that people will use it in the wrong ways and not to help with any diseases that it can kill. Legalizing marijuana in the United States should be done because it can help people with diseases that they can’t fix with just any medicine, it can kill most deadly diseases, and it keeps people from taking multiple pills a day.
Driving under the influence of alcohol is “one of Americas most often committed and deadliest crimes” (). A financial burden on society, motor vehicle crashes cost the United States an estimate of $37 billion annually (). Impaired driving continues to amplify in the United States, in addition to this, prevention laws differ from state to state. An increase in traffic accidents correlates to alcohol, moreover, “Alcohol-impairment is a factor in nearly one-third of all fatalities” (). The Governors Highway Safety Association (2016) examines the issues of impaired driving and the methods use to prevent and decrease DUIs.
It is common knowledge that marijuana is a gateway drug, and a large percentage of users have tried or moved onto harder drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, etc. Decriminalization of this drug would create a huge dent in criminal activity. You have to look at it like a two-sided coin, you are fixing one thing, but breaking another. Marijuana much like alcohol and cigarettes will get in the hands of young children and create even more problems. Driving under the influence of alcohol is a big enough problem as it is, in reality decriminalizing marijuana is going to create a scenario with even more impaired drivers than there currently
One argument against legalization is that with legalization comes less safe roads and highways. Between 2007 and 2012 there was a 100% increase in fatal crashes with drivers who tested positive for marijuana. However, this data is highly criticized since thc can stay in someone’s system for a month. So even though there was an increase in fatal crashes involving marijuana, the marijuana in the person’s body may not have been consumed that night or even that week. Since the thc has this effect, it is tough to differentiate between these fatal crashes that directly involve marijuana and crashes that just involve people who have consumed cannabis within the last
Impaired driving is a very serious issue, not only in the United States, but all over the world. There is a growing problem with impaired driving, drugged driving is increasing while drunk driving is decreasing. The toll of impaired driving on society is sad and should not be taken lightly, people die or are involved in traumatic crashes due to an impaired driver. Ways to combat this crisis is changing every day and the way people view impaired driving needs to change. Many people say they would never get behind the wheel after being impaired, but people lie and research shows that. There is a growing problem of impaired driving that is taking a serious toll on society and the ways to combat the issue is slowly evolving to address the issue.
The old saying is, “When you know better, you do better.” Since this is not the case with some drivers, then it up to law enforcement to be more vigilant. It is a well-known fact that most people will get behind the wheel, even while inebriated, if they feel they can get away with it. Law enforcement has to take steps to show that they “know better” so that drivers will “do better”. Two actions can be taken to discourage individuals from driving while intoxicated: random traffic stops to screen drivers and more arrests. Having random road checkpoints to ascertain whether people are driving under the influence will make people less inclined to do it. Also, having more arrests will send a message to the community that they will not get away with driving while in such a harmful
Every driver, that is under the influence, is putting every life around them in danger. Any
Marijuana, since its discovery, has been used as a recreational drug by many individuals. Over the years marijuana has been seen as an inferior drug, so many never considered it to be beneficial in whichever way. However, in these recent years marijuana has grown an enormous popularity, the medicinal use of it has proven to work. Citizens of the United States have demonstrated to the government that marijuana isn't such a dangerous substance like it was portrayed to be back in the 1970’s. The legalization of marijuana nationwide would be very difficult since the federal government classified marijuana a schedule one drug back in the 1970’s. Marijuana was scheduled by the controlled substance act passed by the congress in 1970. President Nixon passed this act because of the war on drugs, he thought that classifying drugs in these five categories would put an end to drug abuse that was occurring the United States back then, but the world has changed since then. Marijuana is classified a schedule one drug accompanied by heroin, LSD, and ecstasy. Currently in the United States many
Marijuana, also known as cannabis, is known for its benefits, such as industrial use, medicinal use, and recreational use. Marijuana’s industrial uses as a hemp product helped produce important products like the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. The reduction of millions of dollars in tax payer money spent enforcing laws and incarcerating users and freeing up law enforcement to concentration of real criminals. To reduce the millions of dollars spent each year to enforce laws against marijuana. Marijuana should be legalized because its benefits far outweigh the undesirable effects it may have on society.
Recreational use of marijuana is already permitted in a handful of states, and can be medically prescribed in over half the states of the US, though it remains illegal under federal law. News reports on the issue suggest some voters are concerned that the decriminalization of marijuana will have adverse effects on the US crime rate. Opponents to the legalization of marijuana often claim that people who use marijuana are more likely to move on to harder drugs and those users commit crimes to pay for their habit. Additionally, they are concerned that marijuana dispensaries are attractive targets for criminals and that marijuana use encourages alcohol abuse, and that stoned drivers are a danger to the public. That being said,
Marijuana is a plant which has been used by our ancestors for medication and recreation. Marijuana refers to the dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the hemp plant, also known as ‘Cannabis sativa’. The general effects of marijuana has short term and long term effects. Short term effects like change in mood, impaired body movements, difficulty in thinking, memory, etc. Whereas, long term effects consists effects like addiction, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, breathing problem, etc. (Drug 2015) Legalizing marijuana has been a big question among our generation now. It has several benefits. Despite the good facts about marijuana, people are still pointing out the negative impacts of it. Legalizing it has been a big debate among people. The legalization of marijuana in the United States would drastically reduce crime in our cities and form a more productive society through its positive uses.