Colo. launches $1M 'Drive high, get a DUI' campaign

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Colo. launches $1M 'Drive high, get a DUI' campaign
By Kristen Wyatt
Associated Press

The Colorado Department of Transportation unveiled the campaign Thursday to put an end to driving under the influence of marijuana

DENVER — Colorado is spending $1 million on television ads making fun of marijuana users who space out during everyday tasks — an effort to stop stoned driving.

The Colorado Department of Transportation unveiled the "Drive High, Get a DUI" campaign Thursday, the state's first effort since marijuana was legalized in 2012 to remind drivers that pot should be treated like alcohol and not used before driving.

One ad shows a spaced-out basketball player at the foul line in a playground, endlessly dribbling while his teammates wait in frustration. Another ad shows a middle-aged man who hangs a flat-screen TV and celebrates with some tortilla chips and salsa, only to see the TV crash to the floor and shatter.

The funniest ad shows a backyard griller earnestly trying to turn on his gas grill. After many futile attempts, a woman on the back deck rolls her eyes. The propane tank is missing. "Grilling high is now legal. Driving to get the propane you forgot isn't," the ad concludes.

"Enforcement is very important when it comes to impaired driving, but education is equally important," said Bob Ticer, police chief in Avon and chairman of Colorado's Interagency Task Force on Drunk Driving.

The effort from the Colorado Department of Transportation comes as Colorado struggles to keep accurate statewide records on marijuana-impaired drivers. The Colorado State Patrol just started keeping track in January, when retails sales began and the State Patrol recorded 31 marijuana-impaired drivers, out of 61 total drivers impaired by any drugs or alcohol.

Before that, Colorado cases were charged under the same law as drunk-driving cases, making statewide tallies on stoned driving problematic.

Colorado once tallied marijuana tests sent to the state toxicology lab, but that lab closed last year amid allegations its supervisor advocated for prosecutions. Samples were then rerouted to private labs, which say data are too incomplete to determine marijuana-impaired driving statistics compared to previous years.

Washington, the only other state that has legalized recreational pot, saw more than 1,300 drivers test positive for marijuana last year — that's almost 25 percent more than in 2012.

Of those, 720 had levels high enough to lead to an automatic drugged driving conviction, though Washington officials say there's been no corresponding jump in car accidents.

Colorado's $1 million ad campaign, which begins March 10, comes from a federal grant from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

A Spanish-language ad campaign is launching next week, too. Those ads show a man blowing smoke and the message, "When you use marijuana, don't drive."

Dispensary owners helped develop the Colorado ads and plan to voluntarily hand out brochures and hang "Drive High, Get a DUI" posters.

"We recognize our duty to be a part of the DUID conversation," said Elan Nelson, a dispensary worker who is vice chairwoman of the state's Medical Marijuana Industry Group.

http://www.policeone.com/drug-inter...-launches-1M-campaign-to-stop-stoned-driving/

Stoned Drivers Hit Test Course In Washington To Evaluate Marijuana DUI Limits (VIDEO)
 
What a nightmare, gotta make that money. So what, if they suspect you are high, they give you a DUI until your test comes back and registers at or below a certain level?
 
this is a stupid law. wat about daily smokers?

i used to do everything high when i was in college. i drove while high. i took physical chemistry tests while high. i handled pyrophoric reagents while high.

but its not like i was baked out of my skull, my tolerance was so high that smoking basically just made me feel normal.
 
"This is a stupid law. What about daily drinkers?


When I was in college I used to get drunk as shit and drive around, putting others in danger for the sake of my own inebriation. I never had any repercussions and neither will anyone else!"




FTS right?
 
Is there a lot of research proving that cannabis smokers are just as dangerous as alcohol consumers when driving?

I don't really support driving under the influence but if they're going to be this harsh and mocking about it, there might as well be some evidence to back up the vitriol.
 
Foreigner said:
Is there a lot of research proving that cannabis smokers are just as dangerous as alcohol consumers when driving?

I don't really support driving under the influence but if they're going to be this harsh and mocking about it, there might as well be some evidence to back up the vitriol.
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Quite the opposite actually. There was a study that the insurance companies did that showed marijuana impaired drivers were better drivers than drunk drivers.

http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2012/04/auto_insurance_site_says_marijuana_users_are_safer.php

This is just another right-wing attempt to get people who are smoking weed behind bars. It will be met with a lot of backlash.
 
Roger&Me said:
this is a stupid law. wat about daily smokers?

i used to do everything high when i was in college. i drove while high. i took physical chemistry tests while high. i handled pyrophoric reagents while high.

but its not like i was baked out of my skull, my tolerance was so high that smoking basically just made me feel normal.
Click to expand...
Kinda funny bc when i was younger i smoked alll the time. And since tapering off and quiting kpins and xanax a few weeks ago ive been smoking again like mad to try and feel relaxed and normal. Luckily the kid i get it from has indica and sativa usually. But for ppl that smoke heavy, their driving wouldnt be too impaired vs a person who smokes on occasion. So how are they going to enforce this? Sobriety tests i guess, walk the line and all that stuff that will trip up most stoners even when not high lol
 
MagickalKat777 said:
Quite the opposite actually. There was a study that the insurance companies did that showed marijuana impaired drivers were better drivers than drunk drivers.

http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2012/04/auto_insurance_site_says_marijuana_users_are_safer.php

This is just another right-wing attempt to get people who are smoking weed behind bars. It will be met with a lot of backlash.
Click to expand...

Is it safer than driving sober? In my experience I would say not by a long shot
 
Its not safer than driving sober for sure but the problem is that daily smokers will ALWAYS fail a test, even if they aren't currently high. This goes double for people who eat edibles. Basically what this is going to cause is people going to jail who are actually totally sober. Blood tests of chronic smokers still turn positive even 7 days after the last usage.
 
I was riding my bicycle late in the afternoon. Some big SUV turns in front of me I have to veer off into the ditch.

I confront the driver, who's eyes looked like tomatoes, and he starts giving me a lecture about how riding my bike at night is dangerous and how I needed a headlight.

I pointed out the sun was still out and he hasn't used his turn signal. He just smiles off into space. Ya, real safe.
 
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23536 said:
I'm pretty sure that's a made up study. It's not published in any journal.
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Here is the study that they are extrapolating data from

http://ftp.iza.org/dp6112.pdf

While it doesn't show that marijuana impaired drivers are safer per se, it does show an obvious link between medical marijuana laws and a reduction in accidents that is most likely attributed to less alcohol consumption.
 
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For "Medicial Marijuana Laws, Traffic Fatalities, and Alcohol Consumption" I don't understand why they set up the regression the way they did. They should have used past month marijuana use as a variable instead of simply medical marijuana laws being in effect or not (as a variable).

They also could have included way more variables, rain and snow conditions for example.
 
i would approve of this if they administered a well-thought out sobriety test, a drug test is a horrible idea though since marijuana stays in the system so long.
 
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