PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Arizona law enforcement is reminding people celebrating 4/20 to keep marijuana use at home and stay off the roads.
Officials say just because marijuana is legal in the state does not mean drivers can operate a vehicle while high.
Since recreational marijuana was legalized in 2020, more than half of Arizona’s DUI arrests have involved cannabis, and people are getting hurt because of it. From 2020 through 2024, there have been nearly 2,000 marijuana-related injury crashes. The number climbed from 254 in 2020 to 444 in 2023.
Experts say much of this comes from confusion. People hear “legal” and think that means “okay to drive.”
Doctors and law enforcement say if a driver is impaired, they should not drive. It is illegal and dangerous.
“Marijuana is a drug. Alcohol is a drug. Prescription medications, they are drugs. Illegal substances are obviously drugs,” said Sgt. George Chwe with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety’s Drug Evaluation and Classification program. “In Arizona, it doesn’t matter what you’re consuming. If you’re impaired and you’re operating a motor vehicle, you will be arrested for DUI.”
While 4/20 is often associated with smoking, the dangers of DUI crashes linked to marijuana are the same when it comes to taking marijuana edibles.
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