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Ideas room
New research from the University of Otago looks at the degree to which cannabis-related impairment in fatal unintentional injury deaths is already occurring under current legislation
On October 17, 2020, New Zealanders will vote in a non-binding national referendum to garner public support for the Cannabis Control and Legalization Bill. This legislation focuses solely on the recreational use of cannabis with the use of medicinal cannabis already legalized in New Zealand.
Specifically, the proposed legislation will legalize restricted access to cannabis products licensed for recreational use for those 18 and older. The intent of the bill is to reduce cannabis-related harm to individuals, families / whānau and communities through a strictly regulated legal recreational market, as opposed to the current illegal black market for access to cannabis.
Current public opinion and the debate on this referendum are polarized towards the extremes of the continuum of opinion on the issue: from the desire for a more liberal free market to the retention of the current illegal status.
A recurring argument for maintaining the status quo is the perception of fear that cannabis-related harm will increase to individuals, families / whānau, and communities with the legalization of recreational cannabis use. This argument is almost always made without acknowledging the substantial harm already inflicted by illegal recreational cannabis use.
Unique New Zealand Study
To inform public debate on this topic, we (the University of Otago Injury Prevention Research Unit) conducted a review of coronary records to determine the role of cannabis-related impairment in deaths from unintentional injuries. fatal over a five-year period in New Zealand. .
Using triangulated evidence from forensic toxicology and pathology reports, police reports, and the Coroner’s Summary of Findings, we established the probability that cannabis-related impairment contributed to the injury event.
Other studies have focused on reporting the presence of cannabis in the deceased without due consideration of the likelihood that cannabis spoilage contributes to death. Therefore, our study is unique and represents the first national data on the role of cannabis-related impairment in fatal injury events in New Zealand.
The influence of cannabis on deaths in New Zealand under current legislation
We identified that three types of deaths account for about 90 percent of the 273 unintentional deaths likely to have been contributed by cannabis spoilage: motor vehicle crashes, poisonings and drownings.
The most common of these are motor vehicle crashes that account for two-thirds of deaths from cannabis use. In this situation, someone, either the deceased or someone else, was driving under the influence of cannabis and crashed, resulting in at least one death. Alcohol and cannabis are a deadly combination in terms of spoilage. Alcohol was frequently implicated in these same cannabis-using crash accidents. Therefore, a greater focus on driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs is warranted to address New Zealand’s road toll, regardless of the outcome of this referendum.
While it is extremely rare to overdose on cannabis alone, cannabis use in combination with other legal or illegal drugs is implicated in one in five deaths from unintentional injuries involving cannabis-related impairment. Often the victim was addicted or habitually used multiple legal and illegal drugs.
A small number of drownings were also observed in rivers and oceans in victims of cannabis use. Unlike alcohol use, cannabis impairment was not common in deaths caused by assault.
Proposed legislative safeguards
The proposed bill includes many public health safeguards to offset potential risks related to injuries from cannabis use.
The bill has specific new provisions to protect people under the age of 20. Drug driving will remain a crime under the bill and a new nationwide road testing regime will be implemented in 2021 in 2021, regardless of the outcome of this referendum.
Workplaces will continue to manage workplace deficiencies through health and safety policies on alcohol and drugs. Many safety-sensitive sectors and workplaces have already adopted zero-tolerance policies on alcohol and drugs at work.
So should we keep the current ban?
Like it or not, the current illegal situation of recreational cannabis use does little to deter its recreational use in New Zealand. As a result, substantial cannabis-related damage is already occurring and will continue in New Zealand under the status quo. Our study estimates that around 8 percent of injury deaths in New Zealand are already attributable to impairment due to recreational cannabis use. We can infer that cannabis spoilage contributes similarly to non-fatal injuries.
While some fear that these harms could increase with legalization, other countries that adopt similarly restricted legalization of recreational cannabis, such as Canada, have not observed any significant or sustained increases in cannabis-related car accidents or injuries.
As New Zealand goes to the polls, it is key that voters recognize that the evidence from our study demonstrates the extent to which cannabis-related injuries already occur under current legislation. The proposed bill provides many new safeguards to protect the New Zealand public from harm and minimize the risks of injury and other health-related harm to individual cannabis users. The bill’s passage process in Parliament will also include the opportunity for further refinement to help reduce cannabis-related harm to individuals, whānau and communities.
It’s up to you …
Rebbecca Lilley, Bronwen McNoe, and Gabrielle Davie are senior researchers in the Injury Prevention Research Unit at the University of Otago.
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