On Friday, June 30, Maries County Deputy Tiffany Johnson pulled over a Penske rental truck traveling south on Highway 63. She initiated the stop after witnessing the box truck travel off the right side of the roadway and nearly overturn before the driver regained control.
The sheriff’s department reported that when the driver rolled down the truck’s window, “There was a strong order of marijuana.”
The driver, who admitted smoking marijuana in the vehicle, was delivering 12,000 lbs. of fireworks from a company in Moberly to buyers in Mississippi.
We all owe Johnson a big thank you for stopping the Penske truck. There is a good possibility that she saved lives with this traffic stop. The driver had traveled around 100 miles — of a 500 to 600-mile trip — and could not keep the vehicle, full of explosive materials, on the road.
Can you imagine the results of a multi-vehicle accident on Interstate 44 with a truck full of fireworks?
The box truck driver was arrested and charged with 12 violations, including driving while intoxicated — drugs, driving while suspended, failing to maintain the right half of roadway and failing to maintain financial responsibility (no insurance) in addition to eight vehicle violations.
Last November, Missourians voted to legalize marijuana. That law makes it easier for Missourians of all ages to smoke weed and drive. Now we are starting to see the consequences. I would say unintended consequences, but this repercussion was too easy to predict.
A study in 2021 provides evidence that crash rates increase after recreational marijuana becomes legal in a state.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, marijuana affects the areas of the brain that control how your body moves — balance, coordination, memory and judgment. In short, consuming marijuana slows reaction time and distorts perception making driving unsafe.
“After alcohol, marijuana is the drug most often found in the blood of drivers involved in crashes,” says the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA),
In 2016, as the Governors Highway Safety Association stated, almost 44 percent of fatally injured drivers tested positive for drugs.
Pot can kill in other ways.
The CDC also tells us that “Marijuana use, especially frequently (daily or nearly daily) and in high doses, can cause disorientation and sometimes unpleasant thoughts or feelings of anxiety and paranoia. Marijuana use has also been linked to depression, social anxiety, and thoughts of suicide, suicide attempts, and suicide.”
The problem is, now that the message is out there that marijuana is legal and, by reference, OK, use among our youth is rising.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse warned, “Past-year, past-month, and daily marijuana use — use on 20 or more occasions in the past 30 days— reached the highest levels ever recorded” among those aged 19 to 30. The percentage of 8th, 10th and 12th graders who used marijuana daily has more than tripled between 1991 and 2020.”
Heather Bacchus related in a story on FoxNews.com in May how her son started using marijuana when he was 15 and developed a cannabis use disorder — addiction or daily use — within a year. When he was 21, he developed schizophrenia and took his own life.
Marijuana products sold in Missouri dispensaries can reach 99 percent pure delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC is the drug in marijuana that causes the high. The high levels of THC lead to higher rates of addiction.
A recent article in the Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy states: “According to research studies, marijuana use causes aggressive behavior, causes or exacerbates psychosis, and produces paranoias. These effects have been illustrated through case studies of highly publicized incidents and heightened political profiles.”
Death from marijuana is not limited to fatal car accidents and suicide.
A study published in the journal JAMA Surgery released last week found that high marijuana use is linked to complications after major elective surgery. According to the study’s authors, complications can include blood clots, stroke, breathing difficulties, kidney issues and death.
Funny, that directly conflicts with what supporters of the recreational use of marijuana sold us last year — it’s harmless.
If you have children or grandchildren, educate them. Marijuana is not safe. It can kill you.
