XPost: can.politics, talk.politics.guns, alt.society.liberalism   
   XPost: rec.autos.driving   
   From: obama.poison@cancoons.ca   
      
   Rollin’ through stop signs?   
      
   New research has connected the rise of pot culture to a near 500% increase   
   in traffic-related injuries in Canada over 12 years — especially since the   
   legalization of recreational marijuana in 2018, the University of Ottawa   
   and partners said.   
      
   Their study was published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Network Open.   
      
   “Our findings highlight a concerning increase in cannabis-involvement in   
   traffic-injury emergency visits over time, with even sharper spikes   
   following the phases of legalization and commercialization,” lead author   
   Dr. Daniel Myran said in a statement of the 475% rise.   
      
   “Conversely, alcohol-involvement in traffic injury [emergency department]   
   visits did not increase over the study period, which suggests that   
   legalization of cannabis has played an important role in rising rates.”   
      
   Researchers studied nearly a million ER visits between 2010 and 2021,   
   breaking the span into three distinct periods: before legalization of   
   recreational weed (January 2010 to September 2018); legalization with   
   restrictions (October 2018 to February 2020); and commercialization with   
   new products (March 2020 to December 2021).   
      
   They found a 94% increase in the rate of cannabis-involved traffic injury   
   ER visits immediately after legalization in 2018.   
      
   The drug’s promotion truly set things ablaze, with a 223% rate increase   
   logged in the latter period.   
      
   “The subsequent phase of commercialization, which overlapped with the   
   COVID-19 pandemic, saw an even greater increase of 223% in rates compared   
   to the pre-legalization period,” Myran explained.   
      
   Now, Myran has concerns that driving while high is on track to become a   
   very worrisome issue in Canada.   
      
   “The observed increase in cannabis-involved traffic injuries might reflect   
   broader trends in cannabis-impaired driving,” he stated.   
      
   “The study highlights the need for enhanced prevention efforts, including   
   targeted education and policy measures.”   
      
   Of the 947,604 ER visits, 426 had cannabis involvement, while 7,564 had   
   alcohol involvement, according to the study.   
      
   Men 19 to 21 living in lower-income neighborhoods with a prior cannabis-   
   related ER visit had higher rates of injuries during the time period   
   studied.   
      
   This new research comes after Canada put out public guidance in January   
   that having more than two drinks a week is a health risk.   
      
   https://nypost.com/2023/09/07/canadas-traffic-injuries-up-nearly-500-   
   after-pot-legalization/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)