Thousands of DUIs issues since the legalization of marijuana in Colorado

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Sergeant Patrick Rice with the Colorado State Patrol says although the state has made serious progress when it comes to detecting and enforcing driving under the influence of marijuana they still have a long way to go.

“We still have a long way to go as you can see on our roads we still have many many impaired drivers killing people drivers in Colorado nearly every day,” Rice said.

Just last year there were 235 crashes caused by impaired driving in El Paso County. Tied with 2022 but the highest number the county has seen in the last ten years. Rice says over the years he has learned key differences to spot drivers who are driving while high.

“Many of the dangers of the same it’s a slow, cognitive decision making abilities. It’s your abilities to see down the road and acknowledge a threat and respond,” Rice said.

Rice says one danger high drivers pose on the roads is that they often think they are operating normally, not recognizing the impairment before getting behind the wheel.

“Impairment is impairment, whether it’s on marijuana or alcohol or anything else,” Rice said.

If you are suspected of driving impaired under the influence of anything other than alcohol authorities will ask you to take a blood test.

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