Stoned driving more common than drunk driving

Colorado authorized the use of marijuana tax dollars to temporarily fund a program at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s Forensic Toxicology laboratory, enabling them to test all DUI toxicology samples for drugs as well as alcohol.  The laboratory issued summary results June 30, 2020 after completing the first year of this program.  CBI performs about half of all the DUI lab tests in the state.

For the last year, stoned driving topped drunk driving, something we’ve never had the data to prove before.  There were 12,771 positive results for drugs and alcohol from the 9,763 sample submissions, an indication of the prevalence of polydrug impairment.

Highlights of the report include:

THC positive cases                   4,069, 51% of which were below 5 ng/ml

Alcohol positive cases              3,956

Benzodiazepines                       1,774, 12.8% of which were designer drugs

Methamphetamine family       1,090

Cocaine                                         838

Opiates/opioids                           699

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