Many marijuana users will say that they believe it is safer to drive while under the influence of marijuana than alcohol. Now, a recent government study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) may be backing up this notion with some hard statistics.

The NHTSA's study found that marijuana use does not increase the crash risk of the driver – a result that likely doesn't surprise medical experts and criminal lawyers.

The study followed over 3,000 drivers who had been involved in collisions over a period of 20 months; the study measured if the drivers were on any substances at the time of the crash. The study also used 6,000 control drivers in the same geographical area over the same period who were not involved in any car accidents.

"It was the most closely controlled study of its kind that has ever been conducted," said Gordon Trowbridge, communications director for the NHTSA.

Alcohol Greatly Increases Crash Risk

Not surprisingly, the study showed that drivers who consumed alcohol were far more likely to get into an accident. The study found that when a driver had a blood alcohol concentration of .08%, they were four more times likely to crash than a sober driver.

With a BAC of 0.15%, a driver is 12 times as likely to be involved in a crash. In contrast, a driver with THC in their system is only 5% more likely to be involved in a crash.

While the study shows that marijuana doesn't even come close to increasing crash risk like alcohol does, for now alcohol and marijuana are still treated the same by police and prosecutors.

"We know far less about marijuana at this point than we do about alcohol," says Trowbridge.

If you have been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, or another controlled substance, you should reach out to a skilled criminal defense attorney who will protect your rights.