A series of educational ads, pushed out by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), will be aimed at cannabis users in the state. The messages across these public service announcements will vary from warnings about driving while high, using the drug in public and taking marijuana out of state.
The call for these ads is because there is little data to prove or disprove that living in a legalized state means that there is a higher chance of car accidents. As reported by the New York Times, “Colorado didn't track marijuana-related impaired driving arrests before the drug was made legal in 2012. Twelve percent of DUIs issued statewide last year were for marijuana impairment, not alcohol or other drugs, according to the Colorado State Patrol. And of the 440 automobile fatalities in Colorado, 54 drivers tested positive for marijuana. (A positive result meant the driver had used marijuana recently, but not necessarily that they were driving while impaired. Pot can be detected by drug tests for weeks, whereas water-soluble alcohol dissipates in the blood within hours.)”
Starting with an aggressive campaign launch in time for 4/20, the CDOT will be branding various aspects of the cannabis industry, such as placing video games at dispensaries, with their safety messages.
