Police officer blasts free van offer for marijuana users

The top traffic officer in Victoria, Australia has slammed a campervan operator's offer of discounted rental for cannabis smokers. The popular Wicked van hire network is promoting a deal under which dope smokers get a day's free travel when they hire. "Don't drive drunk, smoke pot and fly!!! Your friends will be GREEN with envy when they see the awesome pics of you in your Wicked Camper!" the company's offer states. "So get on down to your local Wicked Depot and tell them Cheech and Chong sent you and we'll give you an extra day free!"

Traffic police, already alarmed at the level of drug-driving in the community have slammed the promotion as "highly negligent". Supt Neville Taylor, the head of the Victoria Police road policing section, blasted the special offer. "I am outraged that a company is encouraging people to take illicit drugs and drive. This is disgraceful," Supt Taylor said. "Cannabis can have a significant impact on drivers' reaction times, it can distort perceptions of speed and distance and also impact on concentration and coordination when driving."



Supt Taylor said research had showed people with cannabis in their system were at least as impaired as someone with a blood-alcohol concentration above 0.05. He said that when cannabis and alcohol use were combined, the risk of a smash was even more dramatic. "This advertising is highly negligent and encourages illegal and dangerous behaviour," he said. "This is particularly disappointing as it flies in the face of the hard work our community has put into raising awareness of the dangers of alcohol and drugs on our roads."

Wicked vans are highly popular with young foreign and domestic tourists seeing the sights of Australia. The company's owner John Webb said the the offer was just a "bit of fun" and was not intended to promote dope driving. He said Wicked also offered discounts to people who told staff they were gay. "I don't take things too seriously," he said.