FLICKR/RUIN RAIDER
Missouri Police swear they'll be out in force this weekend.
Even if you're the kind of idiot who normally drives around under the influence, the Missouri Department of Transportation has a warning for 4/20: Don't even think about driving while stoned this weekend.
Five months after the state's voters finally legalized medical marijuana, the agency has launched its first-ever drugged-driving enforcement campaign. It warns drivers that even as states across the nation have relaxed their rules on marijuana, driving under its influence remains illegal everywhere.
And that includes Missouri, where the department promises that police officers will be "out in full force April 19-20." Talk about harshing your mellow.
“Driving drug-impaired or riding with someone who is drug-impaired is not worth the risk,” Jon Nelson, MoDOT assistant to the state highway safety and traffic engineer, said in a press release. “Not only do you risk killing yourself or someone else, but the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for driving while substance-impaired can be significant. The consequences are serious and real.”
Indeed, beyond the risk of getting picked up by the police, driving while you're not alert and focused is indeed a very bad thing. The agency says that 78 people were killed and 142 more were seriously injured in traffic crashes in Missouri in 2018 involving at least one drug-impaired driver. Now that's a buzzkill — and very good reason to save that bong hit for a night at home.
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