Name: LAPD warns 4/20 revelers to not smoke and drive
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LAPD warns 4/20 revelers to not smoke and drive

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By | | Los Angeles Daily NewsPolice in Los Angeles are warning residents planning on smoking marijuana this week not to hit the road after they do.If caught, they’ll face stiff penalties, said Los Angeles Police Department Officer Jayson Siller. The penalties are the same as anyone caught driving under the influence of alcohol.In California, that means potentially up to six months in jail, fines starting at $1,400, up to $3,000, for a first offense, a misdemeanor. In addition to the fines, anyone guilty of a first DUI faces from one to three years of probation.DUI becomes a felony on a third offense, if drivers are caught speeding, or if they hurt or kill anyone while driving drunk or high, according to the California penal code.Show Caption ofSiller — a “drug recognition expert” and coordinator for around 200 such officers working for the Los Angeles Police Department — spoke about DUI penalties and the safety issues from impaired driving at the L.A. Police Academy training field on Monday.In 12 years as a DRE, Siller said he’s made thousands of DUI arrests. Since marijuana was legalized in the state in 2018, he said LAPD has seen pot use surge among drivers who officers have stopped and arrested for DUI.Monica Pelaez, a spokeswoman for AAA, pegged that rate at around 79% of drivers stopped in California on suspicion of DUI testing for at least marijuana use. And LAPD data showed 168 crashes last year that involved a driver with marijuana in their system. At least three people were killed in those crashes.One of the problems, Siller says, is ignorance of the law. He said many drivers who smoke tell him they thought it was legal. Or they say they’re smoking medicinal marijuana.Medicinal or not, it’s still illegal, Siller said. He said he’s stopped drivers he saw both smoking pot from vaporizers and joints while behind the wheel.“They light up and then you see a cloud of smoke out of their window,” Siller said.Pelaez estimated the penalties from a DUI conviction at $21,000, factoring in court fees, the cost of hiring a lawyer, and an increase in insurance rates.Siller said LAPD is getting prepared for Tuesday, or “4/20.” There is no official story of how 420 became an iconic number for pot smokers worldwide. What is known is that April 20 now serves as an unofficial, international holiday for marijuana enthusiasts.Siller said stops by LAPD’s around drug enforcement officers actually held steady during the pandemic, despite the steep decrease in traffic overall.We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.Get the latest news delivered daily!Follow UsMost PopularClose

By | | Los Angeles Daily NewsPolice in Los Angeles are warning residents planning on smoking marijuana this week not to hit the road after they do.If caught, they’ll face stiff penalties, said Los Angeles Police Department Officer Jayson Siller. The penalties are the same as anyone caught driving under the influence of alcohol.In California, that means potentially up to six months in jail, fines starting at $1,400, up to $3,000, for a first offense, a misdemeanor. In addition to the fines, anyone guilty of a first DUI faces from one to three years of probation.DUI becomes a felony on a...

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LAPD warns 4/20 revelers to not smoke and drive

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