Drivers Under the Influence of Drugs On the Rise

Many Blame the Legalization Of Marijuana

For many years, campaigns and extra patrolling throughout the U.S. has been done in an effort to put a stop to drunk driving and the horrific accidents that such actions cause.

Today at almost every sobriety checkpoint stops are also checking for drivers under the influence of drugs, and there’s been a change to what the law enforcement community is finding. The number of people driving under the influence of drugs is on the rise. It’s a statistic that many in the law enforcement community finds alarming.

In roadside surveys across the U.S. for 2014, alcohol detection in drivers dropped by nearly 30 percent, however, drivers that were intoxicated by drugs or tested positive for drugs, there was an increase of about 4 percent.
Law enforcement believes many Americans are turning to prescription drugs and illegal drugs like marijuana. Some drugs are not as easy to detect as alcohol.

The increasing number for drugs should be a concern for everybody on the roads as one in four drivers across the nation are testing positive for some kind of drug according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.
Therapist Robert Hutchens says the stigma on using drugs has decreased. He says people might not realize what kind of affect their drug use could have.

“Once a person takes these drugs into their system, the mind becomes altered,” Hutchens said. “Once that happens, their impact, whatever it is they’re doing, has a great impact on the greater society and the community.”

So what is a solution? The law enforcement community is pretty resolute on this issue.

“Education, education, education….it has taken many years of efforts with the anti-alcohol driving messages to get that message across, and its finally working to some degree,” Hutchens added. “We need that same thought, that same tenacity going into educating about prescription drugs.”