Cannabis Intoxication Impaired Driving Labs

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2022

Montgomery County Department of Police’s Cannabis Intoxication Impaired Driving Labs are unique employee training programs that promote community engagement, enhance citizen participation in understanding police activity, and work to enhance traffic safety while aiming to deter impaired driving. Cannabis Intoxication Impaired Driving Labs are the first law enforcement-hosted training that addresses cannabis-impaired driving behavior and recognition of cannabis abuse through the use of actual impaired subjects. This program aims to teach law enforcement about how to recognize general indicators of cannabis impairment by providing the opportunity to work with medically certified cannabis patients. These patients volunteer their time to consume cannabis products so that officers can visually observe how individuals act when not sober. While officers are learning through this venue, so are those within the cannabis community. Through this training, the consumer participants are able to better comprehend the dangers of drugged driving, build positive and mutual relationships with law enforcement, and act as educational resources for officers who are responsible for enforcing impaired driving laws. This project is truly a joint effort between law enforcement and the general community with the goals of fostering responsible consumption of cannabis products, promoting the County’s strategic highway safety plan of Vision Zero, and enhancing law enforcement training that will allow for a first-class workforce with a more empathetic and better understanding of the cannabis consumer.