Over a span of 11 years, annual rates of Ontario emergency department visits for cannabis-related traffic injuries surged dramatically, according to a recent study from The Ottawa Hospital.
The study, published Wednesday in JAMA Network Open, looked at cannabis involvement in emergency room visits for traffic injuries between 2010 and 2021 in Ontario. It also examined shifts in cannabis consumption and driving habits following federal legalization in 2018.
“Our data is raising concern about a growing problem of cannabis impairment and severe road injuries,” said lead author, Dr. Daniel Myran, who is also a fellow at the Bruyère Research Institute and with the University of Ottawa’s Department of Family Medicine.
“Since 2010 there has been a very, very large increase in cannabis involvement and traffic injury visits in Ontario.”
The study also found sharper spikes of marijuana involvement in traffic-injury emergency visits following legalization, he added.
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