Colorado to launch 'don't drive stoned' ads with U.S. funding

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Colorado to launch 'don't drive stoned' ads with U.S. funding

BY KEITH COFFMAN
DENVER Mon Jan 13, 2014 4:59pm EST

(Reuters) - Colorado will warn motorists against driving stoned in a campaign backed by $430,000 in new federal funding, officials said on Monday, two weeks after the first U.S. recreational marijuana retail shops opened in the state.

A series of television public announcement spots will air across the state beginning in March, warning drivers that offenders will face similar penalties to those caught driving under the influence of alcohol, said Emily Wilfong, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Handouts and posters will be distributed at the state's marijuana shops as part of the public service campaign funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, she said.

In 2012, voters in Washington state and Colorado approved the possession of small amounts of cannabis by adults, although the drug remains illegal under federal law.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/13/us-usa-colorado-marijuana-idUSBREA0C1JU20140113

[Cooley Hurd]

1. Don't drive stoned - you'll only start traffic jams...

...as cars are bottlenecked behind you as you drive 45 in a 65 mph zone.

[brewens]

2. I'd say a rookie weed smoker shouldn't drive but and experienced stoner is really no threat.

If the cops pull them over and they pass a typical field sobriety test, I'd say we're done here! I've done it after bonging out. I got pulled over for having a headlight out and had four cases of beer in my truck but had not been drinking. I worked for a beer distributor and the brewski's were for a buddy of mine. I got pulled over right in front of his house! So I'm out there doing the dance and the cops see my eyes and know I'm stoned! Tough shit back then cops! I passed with flying colors and they had to let me go.

I also knew not to be packing my weed most times and if I had been, it would have been locked in the tool box on my truck. The rules used to be they could only search your cab and "lunge area" unless they got a warrent. That used to mean if you locked your glove box, they couldn't get in there either. Of course that didn't do you any good if you had to get in there to produce your registration and proof of insurance.

I think cops routinely violate all of that these days but if you were smart several years ago, it was effectively legal to drive stoned. In fact most of the guys I knew that got busted for weed, were drinking and driving. The cops found it on them when they were searched being arrested or in their rig if it was impounded. One guy got nailed one block from his house after going to a concert 100 miles away and he was drunk. Just a tiny corner of shake left in the bag in his pocket. That would not have happened to me. I know I would have tore that corner out and dumped it in a bowl and smoked it. Then the pipe would have been stashed in my trunk for the drive home. They may have gotten me for DUI but not the weed.