Those of you who plan to get behind the wheel after having some alcohol or illicit drugs this weekend will see a lot of law enforcement out and about.
Agencies from across Kansas and several Plains states — Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma — are stepping up enforcement efforts on streets, roads and highways. Lyon County is among the agencies participating. Sheriff Jeff Cope says authorities have been better trained to spot impaired driving over time.
April 20 is unofficially known as “Weed Day.” There are several explanations for how that happened, including 420 being police code for marijuana use in progress or a group of several California high school students using that time to hang out after class and smoke pot in the early 1970s.
Cope says deputies will be looking for signs of impaired driving, and he says drunk driving can look similar to drugged driving on the street.
Deputies will issue citations to anybody refusing to obey traffic laws. If suspected violators refuse to submit blood tests, search warrants may be sought and obtained for that person’s blood.
This effort comes as injuries and deaths from drunk and drugged driving continue to increase. The special enforcement effort begins Friday and continues through Sunday.
