DAVE ROSS

PSAs and police are taking on pot in Colorado

Mar 7, 2014, 12:38 PM | Updated: Mar 10, 2014, 10:09 am

Legal retail marijuana stores are still on track to begin opening by the end of June, according to the state Liquor Control Board.

This week saw our state’s first marijuana grower’s license issued and the announcement of Seattle’s first marijuana tours, for things like glass blowing and cooking.

But in that other state to legalize pot, the retail shops have been open since the beginning of 2014.

Recreational pot may be legal now in Colorado, but the law also says it has to be policed just like alcohol, which means special training for cops and new ads.

The Colorado Department of Transportation new driver safety ad shows a stoned 30-something proudly mounting his new flat screen TV on the wall. And as he walks away, the graphic comes on, “Installing your TV while high is now legal,” and as the TV crashes to floor, it reads, “driving to get a new one isn’t.”

But just in case people don’t obey the ads, Colorado Police are attending classes to learn a series of behavioral tests to catch cannibus-addled drivers.

One of the things they’re looking out for is varying speed.

But the real challenge of course is getting drivers to take marijuana seriously.

The perception, right now at least, is that marijuana may slow you down and make you stupid – but it’s basically harmless.

Yet 15 percent of the driving citations issued this year have involved pot use.

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper has been openly skeptical about legalization but says he’ll do his best to make it work, but he doesn’t sound optimistic.

“I want to be able to say, we did everything we could to try and make sure this transition to legalized marijuana was done effectively and fairly and still didn’t work, and then the voters can look at it again,” he said.

And then take another vote, assuming they’re not too stoned to fill in the circles.

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PSAs and police are taking on pot in Colorado