According to a new Division of Criminal Justice report, 73% of around 4,000 drivers in Colorado had been charged with driving under the influence in 2016 and were positive for marijuana in their system.
Out of those who had tested positive for the drug, half had over the legal limit of Delta 9 THC.
There are a total of 27,244 court cases in the state that involve at least one DUI charge that was filed statewide in 2016 and only 4,000 people had been screened for marijuana. The other defendants had not been screened for drug use.
“There is a wealth of information available on alcohol-impaired driving while there is a dearth of research on the problem of drug-impaired driving,” the report stated.
It also stated, “As the national landscape of marijuana legalization continues to expand, it is critical to gain a better understanding of driving impairment associated with drugs, especially cannabis.”
Patricia Billinger, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Public Safety remarked, “We do think that drug-impaired driving is probably underrepresented in the data because of the fact that it is easiest and cheapest for law enforcement to test for alcohol. We’d love to see more agencies testing.”
