4/20 no holiday for impaired drivers

While Saturday marks the 4/20 holiday for marijuana enthusiasts, remember not to toke and drive.

Just like a Cheech and Chong movie, your driving privileges and freedom could go “up in smoke.”

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is teaming up with Lawton and Comanche County law enforcement agencies to conduct high visibility saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints throughout the count, Trooper Mike Shanholtzer said. Enforcement efforts will focus on drivers who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

“Yes, this includes marijuana,” he said. “ 4/20 has often been a date that Cannabis users have celebrated by using product, long before the medical marijuana program was legalized in Oklahoma.”

According to the Oklahoma Bar Association, on any given day, an estimated 1 in 10 Oklahomans are breaking the law when they drive to work or run errands. The reason? They legally consumed medical marijuana within the last month.

Under Oklahoma’s current driving under the influence laws, they could be guilty of DUI even if no marijuana was used that day or week.

With the 2013 passage of no tolerance DUI laws, driving with any registrable amount of marijuana in your system is illegal, legally prescribed or not.

Unlike alcohol, marijuana intoxication can’t be measured like alcohol. The 2017 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report on marijuana driving safety noted there are currently no evidence-based methods to detect marijuana-impaired driving.

In Oklahoma, there are two approaches used by law enforcement in detecting marijuana-impaired driving: the Standardized Field Sobriety Test and blood testing, according to the Oklahoma Bar Association.

Shanholtzer urged people to make another choice than get behind the wheel if they imbibe of any mild altering substances.

“Please do your part to help us keep the roads safer for everyone,” he said.