right now a special edition of news4 this week focused on weed t we'llake a look at the high stakes debate over legal m marijua marijuana, including if driving after using it is safe. plus, does it work? the science may be limited but that's notpping people from lighting up. and pot party, the loophole in d.c.'s ma wanna law created a puff up business. we'll show you how police are stepping in. >> announcer: welcome to news4 this week. >> hello, everyone. recently news4 featured a series of stories on a high stakes betting industry, we called iwe weed. we want to give you a second look at some of those stories

over the next half hour. we start with an investigation by the news4 eye team, showing many drivers are getting impaired we show you how police are cracking down. >> dui seven. >> the news4 eye team is on patrol withand police, looking for drivers who might be impaired. >> we are looking for violations indicative of pairment. we look for a weaving pattern. >> reporter: when this car blazes by us at nearly 120 miles per hour, a toper pulls the driver and conducts a field sobriety test. she says she had several drinks beforeetting behind the wheel. officers tell the eye tea i alcosn't the only thing they're checking for these days. as states nationwide including locally look to decriminalize

marijuana, police in marand areinding for drivers testing their luck ant high-way. crashes up. traffic violations up about 40%. virginia and d.c. told eye team they don't keep a record of arrests. overall it >> it became legal in d.c. so it's much easier to get my hands on . >> reporte this man who we'll call andrew says he regularly drives after or while using mar wh you're about to go for a drive. you feel comfortable using rijuana. >>yeah, not very much. >> reporter: he usesvi a vape to take the edge off before hitting d.c. traffic. he says he knows his limit. does it impact how you drive behind the wheel? >> i don't think it does. i feel like it makes me more

attentive to what's going on around me a driving safer and slower. i would rather do that than take a xanax. >> reporte not everyone agree it's safer. police ino colorad say they have seennc anase in people driving high and an increase in deaths. >> the city of aurora we saw about a 74% increase in fatal crashes between 2013 and now. h marijuan been a part of that. >> i have seen impairment and what it does. >> reporter: mary gaston had just said good-bye to her son when the unthinkable happened. >> a few seconds after he left i heard an impact. it was very loud. i hea it and i knew instantly. it was a very traumatict -- was a very -- it was a very horrific death. >> reporter: the driver who hit blake had thc in his blvedstream. he s three years in prison.

>> in my view thone's a percephat marijuana does not impair you like alcohol does. that's not true. you are impaired. >> reporter: currently there's no roadside test like a breathalyzer to test for ngthc, thedient that gets you high. back on maryland's highways, troopers have been trained to detect marijuana signs. >> glossy bloodshot es, drooping of the eyelids, slow exaggerated movements. >> reporter: unlike impaired o legally limit. peoples say they see behind the wheel atightth and in e morning too. keeping them busy 24 hours a day looking for drivers operating at high speed. >> there's also a drgrowing debe over theng hea power of pot. marijuana is legal in 30 states

but there's no proof it works for a variety of symptoms and illnesses. don't tell that to the people who rely on the drug, including a former miss maryland world winner. >> it really is the miracle drug. queen is turning her pain into a platfoo promote medical marijuana. >> it canit help almost anything -- cancer, seizurseizu >> reporter: she was sfering with chronic aches, anxiety and fatigue. >> i have osteoporosis. i have a tumor and a liege on my temporal lobe. >> reporter: she was taking ten ills a day and getting little relief. she turned to medicinal oils.

>> i felt like i had to try it. all these pills weren'trk g. >> reporter: dugger is a too.ever, he's a board certified an steezologyist who leftin his jo raditional medicine to help people get access t medical marijuana. >> i felt was part of the problem prescribing opioids. you sees patie become addicted and drug seeking and their whole lifeol rd around getting their pills. >> reporter: 71 dispensariesre open i maryland now and five in d.c. with more comin soon. marijuana in virginia is not legal, but dispensaries selling cbd oils are set to open next year. as business grows the science has been slow to catch up. dr. hogan is the director at the

medical center. >>es ons, which hopefully with time and research we'll be able to figure out, but potentially, it's >> reporter: last year, the food and drug administration aproved to first and only drug drived from marijuana to treat two forms of epilepsy and reduce seizures. >> there's a lot of medications that are off label, meaning we use the for other indications because there's a benefit. >> reporter: the studies may be limited but for cheyenne and countless otherst not hype. it's the first step towards healing. >> i have seen what the benefits are so i feel inclined to advocate for it and be a voice for others too scared to come forward and share their experience. when we comehe back,

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because hey, tomorrow's coming up fast. nature's bounty. because you're better off healthy. it is aus betting indtry of something calledcbd oils. cbd is an extract from a cannabis plant, be you the compound doesn't get you a lot of people praise its health benefits and some are even using itir to treat t pets for things like arthritis, seizures and cancer. reaction from a pet owner now who has seen the ireaction. >> wouldn't give her anything else. she's eating, playing, she sleeps we. >>etyn dogs and cats but it's an unregulated industry. that means the products are not tested by the food and drug administetion. if youonsidering using it tor treat you pets it's important to talk with our

veterinarian about it. when we come back it can need for weed. while some say marijuana is the cure, some say they can't quit the habit. a look at the growing costs of marijuana dertment si ♪ we buy any car dot com ♪ a

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welcome back. for thousands of people in our community, the need for weed is too strong to control. as states nationwide move towards fully decriminalizing marijuana, the news4 eye team found thousands of urs are seeking help to get away from it. as scott mcfarland reveals there's growing costs of medical marijuana treatment for taxpayers. >> reporter: before becoming a dad and posing for pictures with his kids and picking up the toys around the house, life looked a lot different for matt parish. you started off with marijuana. it wasn't casual, though, was it? >> no, it was never very casual.

>> reporter: he says first it was marijuana that controlled his life. >> eventually i was spoking when i woke up, before i went to bed. every chance i could get. >> reporter: and then harder drugs like opioids. dent. we flipped the car two times in the middle of rush hour. >> reporter: when we crashed en route to d.c. to buy more drugs. surviving that accident pushed had imto seek help. >> i'm here for a reason. i'm going ask for help. >> reporter: angela called we will, aziks counselor says marijuana addiction is something she often sees. >> you're not going find a lot of people to die from overdose, but it does not discount the effects. >> reporter: we found thousand of people admitted to state supported drug treatment programs citing marijuana as the main reason. we found thousands more who cited marijuana as one of the

reasons. the largest increase nationwide among women, 18 to 25 years old. in our area, it's women 31 to 40. not surprising, says caldwell as states move to decriminalize marijuana. >> it's been a part of their culture. it's so socially acceptable. >> reporter: it's hard to convince young people this is harmful. >> yeah, they're not trying to hear that. >> reporter: harmful and costly. in virginia alone we found spending on state supported treatment programs for drugs reached 15 the $5 million last year. caldwell says the addiction is hard to convince. it's disrupting you from life. then it's an addiction. >> then it's an addiction. >> reporter: national research shows those who begin smoking at teens or daily are more likely to need treatment. experts testifying before the

senate says marijuana does have addictive properties. >> prolonged marijuana use is addiction. marijuana is less addictive than opiate painkillers but is an addictive substance. >> reporter: a survey reports 9% of marijuana users admit becomi becomi becomi becoming dependent. matt parish eventually got clean and as a counselor he's helping others who may be following his own journey. >> you eventually want more. the constant smoking, you build a tolerance to it. >> reporter: learning that casual marijuana smoking doesn't always remain casual. scott mcfarland, news4 eye >> if you or someone you know is looking for help for any type of substance abuse, we have

reurces. just look under investigations on our site. when we come back, pot parties in the district? most of those cases go nowhere. ahead, what theyr uncove and ahead, what theyr uncove and changes to marijuana laws.

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fresh grab and golking salads and sandwiches. they're not talking, because they're eating. oh, hello. at giant, it's the little things that make mealtime easy, so you have more time with the people you love. welcome back. as medical marijuana becomes legal in more and more states, a new study is getting some reaction from parents about where dispensaries should go. a university of michigan survey shows three quarters of parents think dispensaries should not be near school os day cares and 47% say they shouldn't be near their children dozens of pop-up parties. the news i-team found ahis leads

torrests. >> reporter: you can find it in any cornerf the district. pot parties popping upe ins businesses and warehouses and even ho'ss. the distriarijuana law says you can grow it, smoke it and give small amounts to others. you just can't buy it or sell it. creating a entire industry that exchanges cash f stickers, t shirts, even socks that come ith marijuana products as a gift >> i don't see a problem with it. >> reporter: he says he doesn't frequent or host pop-up parties but last month got arrested while standing outside to have one at a building he a owns sell for events. >> stormed the building, guns drawn, and it was terrifying. reporter: police arrested the two women in the setting up for the party, but prosecutors dropped those cases. the i-team foundhat's not

uncommon. we followed every case through the court. out of 255 people charged the i-team found exactly three have gone to ial. >> marijuana prosecutions in the city have always been lenient. >> reporter: he wasn't surpred to hea prosecutors dropped 789% of the when 89% of arrests get dismissed that's got to be frustrated. >> not with marijuana. nuve grown accustomed to that. >> reporter: why ce having officers spend their time raiding those parties? if you're gifting it on a large scale to hundreds of ople turned guise of you're giving them something else it's clearly distribution. i don't think that's even gray. >> reporter: in a statement prosecutors said they fully support police efforts but successfully prosecutoring them needs a legal standard.

prosecutors shouldn't enforce a law that's likely to change. he's introduced law that allows marijuana to beso bought and taxed. >> we are sayin more people should be allowed to operate in this business without the consequence of being arrested. >> reporter: he owns a massand business a says the marijuana police impounded his car out back wasn't for sale. he infuse z it and sells it in lotions. it's described on his website. >> it's crazy. i think it's wrong. >> reporter: it's one of 22 cases prosecutors haven't dropped. three dozen others guilty pleas. the chief says pop-up raids often originate with complaints from neighbors about noise and traffic and cash only sal make the parties a, the for crime. offirs sometimes recovered thousands of dollars and guns,

which are illegal to carry in the district. >> we have seen a couplef robberies associated with the pop-up parties. we have seent least one homicide. >> reporter: purvis agrees safety is important, butll s sees the gifting law as gray in the pop-up parties and his own business. >> definitely have to maybe rethink how i'm going to do it. i definitely don't want police again. in >> reporter: the u.s. attorney's spokesman toll us they have moved forward with the most viable pop-up party cases and prosecute any weapons or ol ce. thanks for joining us for this special news4 this week. i'm leon harris. thanks for joining us. have a gre week. ♪

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it neutralizes stomach acid at the source. ♪tum tum tum tum smoothies. also available tums sugar-free. >> announcer: "news 4 today" starts now. parents dealing with unbearable loss this morning. a 1-year-old boy nokilled. an 11-year-old child is facing charges. this morning, if the potholes do not slow you down out there, the speed limit there. we'll tell yha about the cnges coming to local roads until crews can smooth out your drive. controversy that goes from the links of trump national in virginia all t way to th waters of the potomac. the latest on a possible en cronmental scandaling from the president's golf course. all that and more as we lcome you in on this 2nd of march, 2019. the first weekend in march. weome in on this saturday morning. good morning to you. i'm david culver. storm team