REGIONAL- On Tuesday, just one week before recreational marijuana becomes legal in Minnesota, state law enforcement officials gathered in St. Paul to send a strong message to would-be users that operating any motor vehicle under the influence of weed carries the same dangers and penalties as driving under the influence of alcohol.
Their collective preemptive strike on marijuana-influenced driving is fueled by a 127 percent rise in drugged driving cases between 2017 and 2021 as compared to the previous five years. Arrests for drug-impaired offenses rose from 7,000 to 16,000, and officials are concerned that number will go even higher once recreational marijuana becomes legal.
“Our message here today is that driving high is a DWI,” said Commissioner of Public Safety Bob Jacobson. “If you choose to use cannabis, please do so responsibly. Never get behind the wheel after using drugs and alcohol. If you feel different, you drive different, so educate yourself. Be responsible. By doing so you can help keep all motorists on our highways safe.
Rodman Smith, director of enforcement for the Department of Natural Resources, emphasized that the laws for recreational vehicle operators are exactly the same as for highway drivers.
“All the rules apply, whether it’s a motor vehicle, an ATV, a snowmobile, or a watercraft,” he said. “The consequences that happen with a conviction of DWI in an automotive vehicle apply to your ability to operate ATVs, snowmobiles and watercraft. The same goes the other way, so that if you get an impaired driving conviction for a watercraft, snowmobile or ATV it affects your privileges driving a traditional motor vehicle. We’re fortunate here in the state of Minnesota to have an abundant amount of trails for snowmobiling and ATVs and tens of thousands of lakes and rivers to operate watercraft on. The important message here is that impaired driving is impaired driving. It doesn’t matter what type of motor vehicle you’re driving.”
Transporting cannabis
Colonel Matt Langer, chief of the Minnesota State Patrol, emphasized that the restrictions on transporting cannabis in motor vehicles are the same as those for alcohol.
“It’s illegal for drivers or passengers to use marijuana or any cannabis products or to have open cannabis packaging,” he said. “Violating any of these rules can lead to you being charged with a traffic offense. You may keep open product in the trunk of a car or another area that is not accessible to any of the occupants of the vehicle including the driver and passengers.”
Cannabis products may be transported only in the original sealed packaging.
Langer noted that troopers and most law enforcement officers are trained to do standardized field sobriety testing and have the option of calling in a drug recognition evaluator (DRE) in situations where drug impairment is suspected. The more extensive evaluation conducted by the DRE can take upwards of a half hour to complete.
Mike Hanson, director of the DPS Office of Traffic Safety, said the state is embarking on a “robust education and awareness campaign” backed up by strong enforcement programs. The awareness campaign will involve extensive messaging through retail locations, bars, restaurants, billboards, social media, radio, streaming TV, audio programming, and many online platforms. Hanson said that the upcoming Labor Day weekend will be targeted for both increased messaging and enforcement as it is one of the busiest holiday weekends of the year for impaired driving.
Hanson also noted two important initiatives funded by the Legislature, drug recognition evaluator training to the tune of $10 million this year and $5 million in subsequent years, and a pilot oral fluid collection project that will assess the use of such sampling for identifying drug impairment.
Participation in the oral fluid project will be strictly voluntary, and Hanson emphasized that the results will not be admissible in any court action nor admissible for any drivers license sanctions. The project is simply collecting samples to evaluate the oral fluid testing technology that is available. The project will start in September and run for about a year, he said, after which a report and recommendations will be drafted for the Legislature to consider.