LEICESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - As access to recreational marijuana becomes easier in Massachusetts, police are preparing for the potential of more drugged drivers on the road.
Walpole Police Chief John Carmichael is making sure his department is ready for recreational sales and the possible repercussions that may come with it.
He says that they haven’t seen a serious increase in drugged drivers but “we can expect it.”
“We do need to strengthen the way we deal with this problem,” Carmichael said, “especially now.”
Drug recognition experts (DRE) are undergoing extensive training to be able to evaluate if someone is high.
There is no breath test for marijuana like there is for alcohol, so DREs are a police department’s last line of defense when determining if a driver is impaired.
“We try to make that stop to prevent someone from getting hurt or killed by someone who is impaired by drugs, especially marijuana,” said Walpole Officer Richard Habr.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety seems to have uncovered a troubling trend.
A new study shows car crashes are up by as much as six percent in four states where recreational marijuana is legal – Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. This is compared with neighboring states that have not legalized pot.
“It’s just a matter of time before we as a state catch up to those states,” Harb said.
But the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) disputes the connection between crashes and cannabis.
“The simple fact that more people have marijuana in their system does not mean that more people are impaired on the road,” the NCIA said. “This study does not take into account other potential contributing factors, such as changes in driving trends, population demographics, and distracted driving.”
Mothers Against Drunk Driving are hoping to keep people on the roads safe with strict impaired driving laws.
Candace Lightner founded the nonprofit organization after her 13-year-old daughter, Cari, was hit and killed by a drunk driver in 1980.
She spearheaded campaigns that created tougher drunken driving laws and now she wants to see the same kind of laws for drugged driving.
“I work with victims who have been impacted by marijuana-impaired driving,” she explained.
A current state law allows drivers to refuse an evaluation from a DRE without any punishment but punishes anyone who refuses to take a breath test.
Lightner and many police chiefs feel that loophole allows marijuana-impaired drivers to get back behind the wheel.
“It’s frustrating because I look at all the work that I did in the anti-drunk driving movement and I think it wasn’t enough,” Lightner said.
For now, local police chiefs are trying to do what they can to warn drivers of the possible dangers.
Carmichael says, “If you’re going to use this drug, don’t get behind the wheel and drive an automobile.”
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