(Des Moines, Iowa) – If you plan on indulging (albeit illegally, in Iowa) on marijuana, Thursday (“420 Day), you should know that the Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau (GTSB) is partnering with law enforcement, to keep drug-impaired drivers off the road. Drug-impaired driving is dangerous and illegal. The Iowa GTSB and Department of Public Safety (DPS) says “If you feel different, you drive different.”

Statistics show, that in Iowa, from 2020-2022, 36% of impaired driving fatalities involved drug use. Authorities say “It has been proven marijuana can slow reaction times, impair cognitive performance, and make it more difficult for drivers to stay in their lane. The GTSB’s coordinator for Iowa’s Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) Program, Todd Olmstead, says “High, stoned, or wasted: it doesn’t matter what term you use, if you are impaired, do not get behind the wheel. Our DRE experts assist local law enforcement in the detection of drug-impaired drivers. If you think you can get away with driving high, you’re mistaken.”

Those who plan to consume cannabis on “420 Day” (or any day, for that matter): Don’t drive! If you find yourself drug-impaired and stranded in your vehicle, give your keys to a sober driver. If you have a friend who is about to drive “High,” take the keys and help them get home safely.

According to urban legend, “420 Day” began in 1971, when five San Rafael, CA. High School students devised a secret code which they used to indicate to each other that they would meet later in the day to smoke cannabis. After saying “420” to each other in passing in their school hallways, they would then meet at 4.20pm in order to smoke cannabis. Time magazine reported in 2016, the actual numbers “420” don’t have much symbolic significance.