Deschutes County ranks high in impaired drivers stat

Federal highway officials say Deschutes County ranks fourth in the nation for the rate of drivers in fatal crashes who were found to have been using hallucinogens..

Drugtreatment.com analyzed data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from 1995 to 2013.

They ranked the top five counties by different driving impairments, for those who tested positive for depressants, cannabis, inhalants or any drugs. Under hallucinogens, Deschutes County’s rate was fourth in the nation, at .09 per 100,000 people.

James Miller, the owner of Turning Points Recovery Services in Bend, said the data likely could represent a peak during the early 2000s.

“For all we know, those things happened eight years ago, at the peak of the ecstasy craze, when the raves were popular,” Miller said.

He also said alcohol and marijuana remain the two most common sources of substance abuse, and hallucinogens are not as widely used because of there intensity.

See the report at: http://www.drugtreatment.com/expose/roadway-fatalities-drug-alcohol/