Theevidence ismounting that driversare increasingly impaired by drugsother thanalcohol, includingmarijuana.Wehaveso muchmorework todo.
A lot has changed in the 40 years since MADD’s founding. MADD succeeded in our push for every state to enact a .08 BAC limit, passed laws requiring ignition interlocks for all drunk driving offenders in 34 states, and D.C., and educated over 1.1 million youth and parents about the dangers of underage drinking. Tragically, a lot has not changed. Each year, more than 10,000 people are killed and 300,000 are injured in drunk driving crashes. And the evidence is mounting that drivers are increasingly impaired by drugs other than alcohol, including marijuana. We have so much more work to do. In 2015, MADD expanded our mission to include fighting drug- impaired driving, reflecting our commitment and long history of serving victims of both drunk and drugged driving. MADD created a Drugged Driving Task Force with key law enforcement, traffic safety, and research experts to study the potential effects of marijuana legalization, the national opioid crisis, and the prevalence of prescription drugs could have on impaired driving. The task force
learned from these experts that proven tools to combat drunk driving, such as high-visibility law enforcement by specially trained officers, will prevent tragedies caused by drug-impaired driving. We also learned that there is so much more to learn. We need more research, more data, and better testing to fully understand how the increased use of marijuana and other drugs will impact traffic safety and the under 21 population. Four decades after MADD first challenged the nation to dramatically change lax attitudes and laws toward drunk driving, we are rolling up our sleeves again to stop the tragedies caused by marijuana impaired driving and under 21 consumption. This survey is a critical step toward understanding Americans’ behaviors and attitudes toward marijuana use, impairment, and driving. The results are both informative and incredibly alarming. Our sincere hope is the findings will serve as a guide toward solutions that will honor those we could not save and lead us to a nation of NO MORE VICTIMS ® .
Drugged Driving // 3
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