“If you feel different, you drive different. Drive high, get a DUI.”

That’s the theme of an effort by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to help local law enforcement be highly visible from now through Labor Day, as they crack down on those taking the risk to drive impaired.

Even in states such as Ohio where adult-use cannabis is legal for recreational use, it is still illegal to drive under the influence. It doesn’t matter what substance is to blame.

But, according to West Virginia’s Governor’s Highway Safety Program, many drivers do not believe getting high affects their abilities in the same way as alcohol.

As NHTSA notes, it is illegal everywhere to drive under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, opioids, methamphetamines or any potentially impairing prescription drug.

The statistics around impaired driving are sobering. The National Safety Council estimates that 457 people died on roads across the United States during the 2024 Labor Day holiday period.

Officials with the Ohio State Highway Patrol report there were 378 arrests for impaired driving during that period. Six of the 15 fatal crashes involved impaired drivers, and there were 50 arrests for drug-related offenses.

Don’t take the risk. Whether it is the potential fine and legal trouble that puts you off or the possibility that you could endanger (or kill) yourself or someone else, it’s just not worth it.

It comes down to this — drive sober or don’t drive at all.