re: #5 Anymouse 🌹

Letter submitted.

State Senator Steve Erdman had a recent article in the Star-Herald decrying the death rate from automobile accidents where the driver tested positive for marijuana has steadily climbed. He cites this as proof that legalization is bad for Nebraska.

Politicfact already dealt with his argument: It was a flawed study from the conservative Heritage Foundation. Georgia conservatives are using the same talking point (fatalities are up 100%). That study cites the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, but NHTSA itself says they have no such data.

The important metric in highway deaths is the number per 100,000 people. Nebraska has consistently scored above Colorado in that, both before and after legalization in Colorado.

That information can be found from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. They have a vested interest in those figures, as the numbers are used to set car insurance rates.