Colorado State Patrol officers cited 60 people in January for driving offenses in which marijuana was believed to be involved, a CSP sergeant said Monday in reporting the first such numbers in the state.

Trends in stoned driving have proved difficult for state officials to track, and the State Patrol began keeping tallies on impaired-driving cases involving marijuana only in January. In that month, stoned-driving citations made up about 15 percent of the total impaired-driving citations for the month, Sgt. Mike Baker said.

“This is the first year we’ve had such specific, quantifiable totals for marijuana-related citations,” Baker wrote in an e-mail. “We won’t be able to make an educated, reasonable assessment about the effect of the new marijuana laws for a few years at the earliest.”

The State Patrol cited 332 people in January for driving under the influence of alcohol. Another 17 people were believed to be under the influence of a drug other than marijuana.

For more, click here.

State Capitol, West Foyer: Photo of Colorado State Trooper going through a parking lot looking for any stolen cars with the cameras on the back of his car. Press conference on the Automated License Plate Readers, a valuable tool for recovering stolen vehicles. Announcing a statewide auto theft prevention initiative to educate the public on what they can do to reduce their chances of becoming a victim of auto theft.. John Prieto/The Denver Post.

JOHN PRIETO