CDOT sits with local cannabis influencers at HTBX event

CDOT highway safety manager Glenn Davis recently participated in a panel of Colorado cannabis influencers to discuss issues surrounding new marijuana legislation and rules set to roll out in the new year.

The panel discussion — Business & Community in the Consumption Era — was part of a series of talks hosted by HTBX, a new Colorado company that launched the nation’s first mobile consumption space — a converted cargo container where people can consume cannabis in public.

Other participants included Alyssa Ufer, Owner, Kaya Events; Sarah Woodson, Owner, Kush & Canvases; and Bethany Semeiks, Community Manager, GoFire. Over the course of an hour, the group discussed the social, safety and business impacts of marijuana delivery and legal social consumption spaces — two recent changes enacted by the Colorado legislature.

Davis spoke about marijuana-impaired driving on Colorado roads, how law enforcement is tackling the issue, and efforts by CDOT to educate the public that driving high is dangerous and to find alternative methods of travel while consuming. 

Since legalization, part of CDOT’s strategy to educate and influence public perception of driving high has relied on public engagement and creating strong relationships with the cannabis industry. In 2019, CDOT completed a two-year campaign dubbed The Cannabis Conversation. Along with traditional advertising, the campaign surveyed more than 18,000 Coloradans about attitudes and behaviors around driving while impaired on marijuana. CDOT also hosted public meetings and town hall events in Denver, Fort Collins, Pueblo, Colorado Springs and Eagle to discuss the issue and explore potential solutions to the problem.

CDOT’s next marijuana-impaired driving safety campaign will begin in the new year. For more information, visit DriveHighDUI.com