Talk of the town: The Cannabis Conversation heads to Eagle and Denver

To round out the 2019 Cannabis Conversation campaign, CDOT hit the road and held public outreach events in Eagle and Denver to discuss in-person the issue of marijuana-impaired driving.

CDOT teamed up with the Eagle River Youth Coalition in the mountains and held a lively discussion with representatives from local prevention groups, dispensary owners, law enforcement and media.

In Denver, CDOT, the University of Denver and the Marijuana Industry Group hosted a stakeholder workshop on the DU campus. The workshop saw representatives from city government, medical-marijuana advocacy, the marijuana industry, rideshare companies, the Colorado State Patrol and more.

In both workshops, stakeholders raised concerns about how impaired driving affected customers, law enforcement, business and the economy, and public health and safety, just to name a few. And at both events, attendees proposed excellent solutions that dealt with how best to educate the public; the kind of research that should be explored; and how government, law enforcement and the marijuana industry can work together toward shared goals.

The Denver workshop was followed by an open house where stakeholders and DU students were invited give their feedback on potential solutions — like the best way to craft a PSA ad campaign, what research and data might convince people that driving high is dangerous, and which messengers would be the most trusted and likely to influence behavior in their respective constituencies.

These public events bookended the campaign's huge public involvement efforts and gave voice to real-world problems linked to marijuana-impaired driving. And the broad range of proposed, actionable solutions gathered from all participants will influence CDOT traffic safety campaigns next year and for years to come.