LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. — Several organizations, including the Missouri Department of Transportation, Missouri Safety Center, Mid-America Regional Council, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and other traffic safety organizations, are raising awareness of the risks associated with drugged driving.
They are behind a regional campaign called "Drive High, Get a DUI."
The campaign will kick off at MoDOT's headquarters in Lee's Summit, Missouri, at 10 a.m.
While marijuana is legal for recreational and medicinal use in many states, it's still illegal drive under the influence of it in all states.
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The Mid-America Regional Council said driving impaired is a matter of life and death.
"We know in the state of Missouri, about 313 fatality crashes occurred where a driver was tested positive for one drug or another," Aaron Bartlett with Mid America Regional Council said. "That occurred between 2015 and 2017."
Last year alone in Missouri, 78 people died and 142 more were seriously hurt in drug-impaired crashes.
On the Kansas side, there were 2,878 crashes with illegal drug use involved in 2017. Eighty-three people died.
Bartlett said it's a major issue and cause for concern.
"Regardless of whether you're driving wasted, or high or whatever you want to call it," Bartlett said. "If you're the reason for someone not getting home from work or home at the end of the day, you don't want that to be on your conscious."
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