Drive high, kiss your license goodbye

With Colorado, California and Washington legalizing recreational marijuana and medical marijuana legal in many other states, an important issue is rarely raised.

Impaired driving.

Alcohol is the traditional problem when it comes to driving, but drug-caused motor vehicle accidents will climb as marijuana is more widely used.

The McCook Police Department is joining in a three-day, six-state drugged-driving enforcement campaign designed to make the point: “Drive High, Kiss your License Goodbye.”

McCook Police Chief Ike Brown said, “Drug-impaired driving is a serious issue for drivers and law enforcement in McCook. By intensifying enforcement of drug-impaired driving laws, we hope people will think twice before driving while impaired by any drug.”

Brown said the focused enforcement starts on Friday, April 20. He said statistics indicate that drug-impaired driving increases on April 20 — “4/20” is a code-term in the drug culture for the consumption of marijuana, the annual celebration for all things cannabis.

Brown said “driving high” affects a driver’s behavior and performance. “It has been proven that THC — the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological effects — slows reaction times, impairs cognitive performance and makes it more difficult for drivers to keep a steady position in their lane,” he said.

Brown and his officers encourage any driver taking any drug — prescription, over-the-counter, or illegal — at any time of the year to make plans for a sober driver. “Find a designated driver or call a cab if you are impaired on any substance,” Brown said.

“Don’t become a statistic,” the police chief said, “by being killed or killing others in a drugged driving crash, or by being arrested and lodged in jail, and by losing your license. No one should spend time in jail or in a morgue.”