Washington

The Washington Poison Center (WAPC) saw a slight increase in calls regarding opioid exposures in 2016 (n=1,696) compared to 2015 (n=1,672). Of the calls received, over 70% (n=1,199) of the exposures occurred in individuals 20 years of age or older.

Fatal driving accidents have risen 122 percent between 2010 and 2014, according to the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission.

The science is clear and unambiguous—pot is a dangerous substance. It is not like alcohol at all. There is a reason it is classified as a Schedule I controlled dangerous substance, right along with heroin, LSD, and ecstasy. The American Medical Association, the American Lung Association, and other reputable doctors and scientists all reject legalization.

Warsame told his schoolmate he had never smoked marijuana and would like to try it, and the two smoked together, according to the report.

A toxicology screen by the medical examiner found “relatively high levels”  of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive constituent in marijuana, in Warsame’s system.

The effects on public health and safety and on the relationship of law enforcement to minority communities will take years to manifest fully, but one impact has become abundantly clear: Legalized marijuana is getting very cheap very quickly.

he Washington Poison and Drug Information Center is reporting a record number of marijuana exposures in Washington State since before recreational marijuana was legalized in 2012. The majority of calls occurred within the 13 – 19 year age range followed quickly by the 20 – 29 years of age group. The majority of exposures were a result of intentional abuse (n= 108) in ages 13 years and older followed by unintentional, unsupervised ingestion (n=36), predominantly in children less than 12 years of age. Marijuana products implicated in these exposures included but were not limited to marijuana chocolate bars, brownies, butane hash oil, marijuana-infused drinks, and marijuana gummy bears.

Olympia, WA – Newly released data from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) shows that marijuana is increasing as a factor in deadly crashes. The number of drivers involved in deadly crashes who tested positive for marijuana increased 48 percent from 2013 to 2014. 
“This study is a step towards answering the myriad of questions we have about the impact of legalized marijuana on driving.

“We have seen marijuana involvement in fatal crashes remain steady over the years, and then it just spiked in 2014,” said Dr. Staci Hoff, WTSC Data and Research Director.
From 2010-2014, nearly 60 percent of drivers involved in fatal collisions were tested for drugs. Among these tested drivers, approximately 20 percent (349 drivers) were positive for marijuana.
From 2008 through 2014, more than 1,100 people died in impaired collisions in Washington. Impaired driving is involved in nearly half of all traffic deaths and more than 20 percent of serious injury collisions. The highest percentage of these deaths occurs during the summer months.