SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) - San Diego County teens rallied on some North County streets Friday, alerting drivers about the dangers of “drugged driving” ahead of California's new recreational marijuana laws.
Brandon Bazan, a San Marcos Mission Hills High School sophomore, said he didn't think about the dangers until he had family and friends die from drugged driving.
“I don't want to do what my family has done. I want to be the better person,” said Bazan.
Teens, who partnered with Mental Health Systems, stood on corners in San Marcos, Poway and Escondido and some used a crashed car from a DUI as the backdrop.
Parents also have increased worry because come Monday, January 1 it will be legal to purchase recreational marijuana from permitted stores in California.
While there are marijuana field sobriety tests, fluid tests remain a gray area. The Governors Highway Safety Association reported in 2015 drivers with drugs in their system died more often than drivers with alcohol in their system – at a rate of 43 percent.
Starting January 1, it will be illegal to smoke or ingest marijuana while driving or riding in a car.