The Alberta Motorist Association is launching a campaign with student organizations, including the NAIT Students’ Association and Alberta Students’ Executive Council, to clear the haze around getting high and driving.
Making the announcement at NAIT, AMA aims to target students specifically in using humorous, lighter imaging to get its message across. In one print ad, a female is sitting with her mouth wide open behind a computer screen with text reading, “Google conspiracy theories when you’re high is legal. Getting behind the wheel when you’re high is not.”
“If you’re high, don’t get behind the wheel,” said Jeff Kasbrick, vice president of the AMA’s government and stakeholder relations. “Cannabis affects your reaction time, attention span, coordination and decision-making—virtually everything that’s required to drive. The facts are clear: driving high is driving impaired, and it’s just not worth the risk.”
Approximately 1.4 million Canadians polled by AMA say they have been a passenger in a vehicle driven by a high driver. According to Health Canada, only half of Canadians who have used cannabis in the last year believe it affects their driving ability. Collectively, according to Government of Canada data, impaired driving is the leading criminal cause of death in Canada.
NAIT Students’ Association leader Naomi Pela says her organization is working alongside NAIT to promote AMA’s message, as well as using student feedback to influence the marketing going forward.
“I think allowing students to speak about the topic in a way that they’re comfortable with is really essential to helping them and encouraging them to make a decision,” added Pela at the announcement.
Legalization of marijuana comes October 17.
