Tuesday is the first day for recreational marijuana sales at about 100 dispensaries throughout Ohio. But while troopers are out, the Ohio Highway Patrol said they're not targeting those sites or their customers.
Lines began forming at some dispensaries hours before they were scheduled to open for business on the first day of legal sales. There are reports of more patrols than usual around those facilities. The Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Lt. Ray Santiago said if you see officers near a dispensary, don’t assume they are there to target people who go in to buy product.
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“We are not specifically targeting those locations nor have we ever," Santiago said. "It’s nothing different than a bar or a restaurant. Our primary concern is keeping folks safe no matter what roadway they are on, no matter where they are in the state."
While many of the public awareness campaigns in recent years have focused on drunk driving, Santiago said driving under the influence of drugs is a less talked about but every bit as important problem.
“We know that the issue of impaired driving is not exclusively to alcohol impairment. In fact, drugged driving has continued to increase on Ohio’s roadways," Santiago said. "If we look at the crash numbers, just from last year, overall fatal crashes were down 3%, but drugged impaired driving fatal crashes increased by 4%. So we know we have work to do."
Santiago said highway patrol officers have been trained on how to detect behaviors of people who are driving while on drugs. He said experts in marijuana impairment are on hand to help officers if they stop someone who is believed to be driving while impaired.
"The highway patrol has 168 drug recognition experts," said Santiago, who explained they help with "comprehensive instruction and provides more in-depth and systematic approach to enabling officers and troopers to conduct detailed evaluations and identify specific types and categories of drugs causing the impairment."
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“Impaired driving is not relegated exclusively to alcohol consumption. If you feel different, you drive different. And when folks consume anything that can impair their ability to drive, they shouldn’t get behind the wheel and this is no different,” Santiago said.
Starting Tuesday, customers who are at least 21 years old can buy recreational cannabis in dispensaries that previously sold medical marijuana. Supplies at some stores might be limited because dispensaries are required to make sure they have enough product on hand for medical customers. The state will allow expansion of a limited number of new recreational marijuana dispensaries in the future.
A full list of rules regarding recreational marijuana sales can be found through the Ohio Department of Commerce's website.
