New Jersey Lawmakers Push For Cannabis-Related Car Crash Monitoring

New Jersey lawmakers propose requiring annual reporting of fatal cannabis-related car crashes.

The proposal follows the recent release of the NJ annual report, which revealed that drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol, were the primary cause of fatal traffic crashes in Garden State in 2021.

A Bill To Track Fatal Marijuana-Related Car Crashes

Assemblyman Kevin Rooney introduced a bill requiring the NJ State Police to track and publish statistics on deadly car crashes involving marijuana in their annual fatal motor vehicle crash report.

The bill (A5348) aims to determine if recreational marijuana is contributing to more fatal car accidents and to work with law enforcement to address the issue.

As the New Jersey Monitor reported, Rooney believes that it's essential to track the number of cannabis-related car accidents to determine if legislative action is needed, even though the impact of legal recreational marijuana on fatal crashes in the state is uncertain due to its recent legalization. A recent study found that legal recreational cannabis is linked to an increase in motor vehicle deaths.

“We can look at the data and determine whether or not we should change some of the laws or should there be more restrictions,” he said. “I don’t know the answer to that question yet. We need to know whether there’s an increase or not.”

Rooney also anticipates breakthroughs in testing methods for marijuana impairment, similar to alcohol breathalyzer tests, in the near future. He said there needs to be more education about the dangers of using marijuana and driving under the influence.

In addition to Rooney's bill, a companion bill was introduced in the Senate last year which aims to broaden “implied consent law” to include blood tests for driving under the influence of cannabis.

Photo: Courtesy Of Jan de Keijzer On Unsplash