10/09/2023

Many Public Safety Associations Oppose Recreational Legalization of Marijuana

Auto accident Injuries and deaths have been found to increase where it's legalized

If Ohio were to legalize recreational marijuana, Ohioans would suffer 48 more fatal vehicle crashes and 2,298 more injury crashes, based on projections using the Ohio Department of Public Safety's crash statistics and research from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS).

The alarming statistics about the projected increase in deaths and injuries from marijuana-impaired drivers were released today by Ohio's leading public safety organizations—the Buckeye State Sheriffs Association (BSSA), the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) and the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police (OFOP). The organizations have joined to oppose Issue 2, a proposal to legalize recreational marijuana that will be on Ohio's Nov. 7 statewide ballot.

"It's not worth one single additional fatal crash—let alone 48 more—just so the people who use marijuana can get it more easily," said said Chief (ret.) Heinz von Eckartsberg, OACP. "We need to be doing everything we can to make our roads safer - not more dangerous; that's why we urge people to get the facts about Issue 2. It's a bad deal for Ohio and not worth the extra risk for all of us."

Please select this link to read the press release that appeared on WKTN-95.3 FM.