California reminds drivers DUI doesn't mean just booze

Alcohol and marijuana don’t mix. That’s the message behind California’s new traffic safety campaign. It’s the latest in an effort to push safety once marijuana is legal for recreational use in California.

Warning labels on marijuana products are what national organization of the reform of marijuana member Mahal Montoya said should come with every purchase of cannabis when it becomes legal in California in 2018.

She says it’s about public safety. “Well absolutely. Definitely warning labels should be included on all packaging. ‘Don’t operate machinery.’ ‘This is hazardous.’”

If you’re driving in Siskiyou County, or any other part of California next year, you’ll likely notice CHP’s new safety campaign…

Driving under the influence doesn’t just mean booze. “It is particularly troubling. amd due to the public’s lack of awareness… The combination of alcohol and marijuana or alcohol and other medications is even more dangerous than when used alone.”

Montoya said she is among the advocates in the legal marijuana community who wants to help raise awareness about cannabis consumer safety.

“Unfortunately there is an underground market here and people are not testing their products,” Montoya explained. “So you could put whatever you want on a package and you can imply that it will have this effect, but until someone consumes that, you don’t know what you have. You’re in effect opening Pandora’s Box. You are self-medicating with products that are not regulated. You don’t know what you’re going to get. You combine a product like that with alcohol which already has known effects. So I always say alcohol and cannabis is a lethal combination.”

Pot use is the focus of a new law taking effect in California. In the New Year beginning January first, it will be explicitly illegal to smoke or ingest pot while driving or riding in a car.

The California Office of Traffic Safety said they’re seeing more instances of driving under the influence of drugs, what they call “DUID.” That’s promting them to reiterate the message that “DUI Doesn’t Mean Just Booze.”