The recent legalization of recreational marijuana use in Minnesota prompted MnDOT’s Office of Traffic Engineering to request this Transportation Research Synthesis (TRS) to gather information about the impacts to traffic safety of such legislation in other states.
Using a survey of the states and district where recreational use of marijuana has been legal for some time or only recently legalized, this TRS examines any changes in traffic safety; the effects law enforcement agencies have identified after legalization; and the guidelines, procedures and experts law enforcement use to determine impairment of recreational marijuana users.
Findings from this TRS are expected to inform future actions by MnDOT and local agency staff, as well as the state and local policymakers and legislators seeking to assess the traffic safety impacts associated with legalizing recreational marijuana use.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is in the process of updating its cost participation policy and was interested in learning about other states' cost sharing policies and cooperative programs for consideration in implementing applicable findings into this policy update. This Transportation Research Synthesis includes a review of relevant state laws and policies, as submitted by state transportation agencies. It also identifies elements of effective policies and lessons learned from the development and implementation of these policies. The review resulted in a compilation of survey results and in-depth summaries of five case studies of effective policies.
This synthesis serves as a step toward identifying other states' approaches to airport zoning and will help inform future updates to Minnesota statutes and rules.
