Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among young people aged 16 to 19.  After alcohol, marijuana is the drug most often linked to drugged driving. And the reality is, teens, get in twice as many crashes after using marijuana

So why don’t Americans treat marijuana as seriously as they treat alcohol or even distracted driving like talking on a cell phone? Parents are alarmingly uninformed about the risks of driving while high and are not educating their children about the dangers. Like many things, it all starts at home, where just 31% of parents say they’ve spoken to their children about driving under the influence of marijuana. Compare that to the parents who say they’ve had conversations with their children about wearing a seatbelt all/most of the time (67%), texting while driving (60%) or talking on a cell phone while driving (50%).

There have been countless public safety campaigns regarding the dangers of driving after consuming alcohol. The same should now be done for driving high on marijuana so that there is not a false sense that it is safe to use without limitation. Driving under the influence of marijuana is dangerous. Let's treat it that way.