The passage of state medical-marijuana laws is associated with a subsequent drop in the rate of traffic fatalities, according to a newly released study by two university professors...

Rees said the main reason for the drop appears to be that medical-marijuana laws mean young people spend less time drinking and more time smoking cannabis. Legalization of medical marijuana, the researchers report, is associated with a 12-percent drop in the alcohol-related fatal-crash rate and a 19-percent decrease in the fatality rate of people in their 20s, according to the study.

The study also found that medical- marijuana legalization is associated with a drop in beer sales.

"The result that comes through again and again and again is (that) young adults . . . drink less when marijuana is legalized and traffic fatalities go down," Rees said...

Mason Tvert, the head of the pro- marijuana-legalization group SAFER, said the study suggests legalizing marijuana would be beneficial in unexpected ways...

Read the entire story at: http://www.denverpost.com/news/marijuana/ci_19437417

States that have passed initiatives to legalize medical marijuana have also seen a decline in traffic fatalities, according to a new study out this week by the Institute for the Study of Labor...

But far from marijuana acting as a “gateway” to more dangerous drugs, as authorities often claim, researchers found that it’s more commonly used as a substitute for alcohol, which is often more harmful and inebriating than marijuana...

A further analysis of data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, spanning from 1990 to 2009, revealed that states which legalized medical marijuana saw a decline in alcohol consumption. A decline in traffic fatalities was a direct side effect of that...

“Every objective study on marijuana has concluded that it is far safer than alcohol for the user and society,” explained Mason Tvert, director of SAFER, a group which advocates for legalization in Colorado. “It should come as little surprise that when we allow adults to make the safer choice to use marijuana it results in less drinking and fewer alcohol-related problems..."

Read the entire story at: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/11/29/study-legalizing-medical-marijuana-reduces-traffic-fatalities/

As Chicago considers decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, the media there has been looking deeper into the issue. The headline of one feature story from the Chicago Sun-Times caught our eye: "User says her marijuana is ‘like a fine glass of wine,’ should be legal."

The piece highlights a professional couple who consume marijuana and believe it should be legal. As the headline mentions, the woman, Kate, sees some similarities between marijuana and alcohol. 

Kate, 48, smokes about five times a week after work and on the weekends. Tom, 52, smokes almost as frequently.

They both have high-paying jobs in the financial industry. And they see themselves as connoisseurs.

“It’s like a fine glass of wine where you twirl it, swish it in your mouth. You savor it,” Kate said. “Some kinds are evergreen-smelling. Some are orangey, sticky. We like to try different strains and compare.”

The article then goes on to discuss the couple's belief that marijuana is far less harmful than alcohol and ought to be treated that way.  In fact, the man, Tom, mentions that he has taught his children that marijuana is the safer choice.

[K]ate, Tom and [NORML member Dan] Linn insist marijuana is less dangerous than other drugs or alcohol.

They strongly support the legalization of pot, which they equate with lifting the prohibition on alcohol in the 1933 with the 21st Amendment.

“As far as I know, nobody has ever died from an overdose of cannabis,” Linn said. “People die all the time from alcohol poisoning.”

Tom and Kate sometimes have a cocktail or glass of wine while they are smoking. But Tom said he tells his kids that between alcohol and pot, alcohol is the bigger evil.

“I don’t see how anybody who has sense can say alcohol should be legal but marijuana should be illegal,” Tom said.

 Click HERE to read the entire article.