In Colorado last year, 37 alcohol-related motorist fatalities occurred in the months of May and June. In May and June of this year there were 30 — a near 20 percent drop.
In addition to a decrease in alcohol-related deaths, motorist fatalities on the whole have continued to come up shy of 2013 numbers since Colorado’s landmark legislation legalizing the sale and use of recreational cannabis.
This can be observed despite recent reports from some media outlets concerning a “stoned driving epidemic” or “toxic combinations” allegedly concocted by marijuana being used in conjunction with alcohol and certain prescription drugs.
And the trend has continued into the early summer months as both traffic on the roads and inside cannabis shops increase. The months of May and June saw one of the widest disparities with a total of 81 deaths compared to 97 of May and June, 2013.
