NYS must plant the seeds against driving while high

Public warnings against the dangers of driving while high already have a dose of the gravitas that finally took hold against drunken driving after decades of tragedy on the roads. That's because New York faces a different, but still serious, messaging challenge as legalized marijuana in New York is phased in.

Preaching and teaching safe and legal marijuana use might require a more nuanced approach because of its chemical dissimilarity to alcohol.

When police pull over a suspect driver, they can use a Breathalyzer to test for blood alcohol. Blow above 0.08 and you'll be charged with driving while intoxicated.

Pot is different. Testing isn’t so easy or revealing. Some states set standards for cannabis impairment such as 5 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood. But even the link between the THC number and degrees of impairment isn’t as linear as with blood alcohol, although new saliva-testing technology promises improvement.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has suggested it's less likely you’d be involved in a crash right after cannabis consumption than if you’d just been drinking. It's also widely believed that alcohol makes drivers more aggressive and menacing but that those who are high might drive too slowly, which is still unsafe.

Cannabis products vary in potency. Officials should closely watch for any correlation between pot use and crashes.

So far, messaging from Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration, billed as “Cannabis Conversations” for TV, radio, print, transit, and social media, strikes an appealing tone but may not convey urgency to skeptics. The bottom line from one release: “It’s never safe to drive high, you shouldn't consume cannabis in disruptive ways, and cannabis can damage growing brains in youth."

A 15-second video from the “conversations” campaign shows a pleasant-looking young man with a clipped beard, glasses and his hair in a man-bun texting on his iPhone. He sends: “If we’re gonna use cannabis tonight we need a plan to get home.” Response: “Well it’s not safe to drive … and you could get a DUI.” The young man replies: “Let’s take the bus.”

Stilted language aside, that may suit some city kids. Wiser advice to young people on Long Island is the same as with alcohol: Have a designated driver, or use mass transit if possible, or hire a car, or stay over. And it's illegal to smoke the stuff while traveling in any vehicle.

Also helpful is an American Automobile Association joint campaign with Students Against Destructive Decisions, to stress that pot impairs vision, decision-making, and reaction time. That means if you feel different, you drive different.

As preparations for retail cannabis sales commence across the state, public agencies should be relentless about safety messaging in every way possible, and on every social media platform. High driving and drunken driving may be different, but they overlap in their potential for tragedy. Keep getting the word out.