Number of Cannabis-Related Accidents in Canada Rises by 94%

Researchers have found that after the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada in October 2018, the number of accidents involving cannabis users increased by 94%.

Cannabis Users Injured Less Often Than Alcohol Users

The study analyzed reports from 947,604 people who sought emergency medical assistance after traffic accidents in Ontario, Canada, from January 2010 to December 2021. Key findings from the statistical analysis include:

• Over 12 years, the number of accidents involving cannabis users increased by 475%, while those involving alcohol users rose by 9.4%.
• After the ban on recreational cannabis was lifted, the number of traffic accidents involving cannabis users rose by 94%.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, cannabis users were 223% more likely to be involved in accidents compared to before legalization.
• The most frequent victims of traffic accidents were men from low-income areas, aged 19 to 21, who had previously been known to use cannabis.

Researchers believe the sharp increase in cannabis users among accident victims is due to a surge in cannabis sales in 2020. The COVID-19 outbreak led Canadians to buy much more cannabis, with sales of cannabinoid products rising by 120% compared to 2019, reaching 2.6 billion Canadian dollars (about 186 billion rubles).

However, cannabis users rarely account for traffic accidents, making up only 0.04% of all accident victims (426 out of 947,604). In contrast, there were 7,564 alcohol-impaired accident victims (0.8%), 20 times more than cannabis users. According to statistics, 55% of fatal traffic accidents in Canada are caused by drivers under the influence of alcohol.

Cannabis Users in the U.S. Also Involved in More Accidents

Lead author Daniel Myran commented on the findings: “We observed a concerning increase in the number of cannabis users injured in accidents who required emergency medical care. The number of people under the influence of alcohol, on the other hand, did not rise as much during the study period. This suggests that cannabis legalization played a significant role in the increase.”

Research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in the U.S. shows a similar trend. American scientists studied accident data from 2009 to 2019 and found that after recreational cannabis was legalized in several states, cannabis users were 6.5% more likely to be injured in traffic accidents, and the number of fatalities among them increased by 2.3%. However, these figures are still much lower than the rate of increase seen in Canada.