SF Police Vow DUI Patrols Will Be Out in Force for 4/20

The “DUI Saturation Patrols” we normally associate with Saint Patrick’s Day and Super Bowl Sunday will be rolling out for this Saturday’s 4/20 observances, as SFPD hopes to discourage people from driving while stoned.

SFist has many times reminded you the times when the SF Police Department was planning DUI checkpoints. These are usually scheduled for popular drinking holidays, like Saint Patrick’s Day or Super Bowl Sunday. But this year they’re adding another popular intoxication holiday to their mix, and despite the cancellation of the Hippie Hill bacchanalia, the SFPD announced they’ve scheduled DUI Saturation Patrols for 4/20.

“The San Francisco Police Department’s Traffic Unit will be conducting DUI saturation patrol this Saturday, April 20, 2024, between the hours of 7:00 PM and 3:00 AM,” the department said in a Wednesday announcement. “Research shows that crashes involving an impaired driver can be reduced by up to 20 percent when well-publicized DUI checkpoints and proactive DUI patrols are conducted routinely.”

Though if they’re out with these DUI patrols from 7 pm to 3 am, they’re likely to miss the people that smoked up at the magic hour of 4:20.

Yet SFPD also argues that people driving whilst high on cannabis is an legitimate problem.

“Recent statistics reveal that 30 percent of drivers in fatal crashes had one or more drugs in their systems,” the SFPD announcement adds. “A study of active drivers showed more tested positive for drugs that may impair driving (14 percent) than did for alcohol (7.3 percent). Of the drugs, marijuana was most prevalent, at 7.4 percent, slightly more than alcohol.”

Those numbers may be influenced by the fact that cannabis stays in your system for days or even weeks after you’ve smoked it. So there may be some false positives in that marijuana statistic. But either way, you’re looking at a world of expensive trouble if you get pulled over for DUI, even if you beat the charges. Probably better to just take Lyft, Uber, or a taxi if you’re planning on traveling about town after blazing up on 4/20.

Related: Stanley Roberts Reports From This Year's 4/20, 'A Street Fair With Weed' [SFist]

Image: Paramount Pictures