"Responsibility starts with me" is the message behind a campaign to battle driving under the influence. And the messenger is powerful, big and persuasive.

Since 2010, NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal has been a spokesperson for Responsibility.Org, a group providing education about responsible use of alcohol and safe driving to teens and young adults. And at 7 feet tall, O'Neal commands attention.

Now, he and the group have begun to speak out about the rapidly growing problem of drugged driving.

O'Neal recently spoke for the group Nov. 30 on Capitol Hill in Washington to announce plans to financially support the training of law enforcement officers in protocols to identify drivers impaired from drugs. He reiterated the need, given that numerous states now have legal recreational marijuana. The group had already provided funding in Florida, Illinois, Nevada and Texas, and with this assistance the states had been able to train 500 additional drug recognition experts.

There are now 28 states that allow for the use of medicinal marijuana and eight that have legal recreational use. Along with the decreases of legal restrictions has come an increase in those driving after having consumed marijuana. Studies have shown that as many as 50 percent of those using marijuana have driven while high and over 20 percent have done so within one hour of consumption.

The fatality rate of those drivers testing positive for marijuana and no other drugs or alcohol has doubled in Colorado and Washington since legal use of recreational marijuana was allowed. Colorado has had a focus on driving impairment specific to drugs with another organization, DUID Victims Voices, targeting the need for public awareness and education.

Currently, there are no standardized tests available to law enforcement to use to objectively or even subjectively to determine fitness to drive when marijuana is suspected as causing an impairment. There are a number of breathalyzers under study, but these have not yet been proven to be reliable in the field.

The expertise of officers in the detection of impaired driving — specifically from drugs like marijuana — and their ability to effectively testify in court is the only strategy currently available to obtain convictions and remove dangerous drivers from the road. Training comes through programs such as Advanced Roadside Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) programs.

These extensive training programs teach a process of evidence collection using recognized screening tests and procedures that support observations of impairment to drive. The training is not part of police officer academy training. It is expensive for individual departments to provide such training to all officers, and many communities have no such specialists.

O'Neal has been committed to supporting those who protect our communities for a long time. When he played for the Los Angeles Lakers, he attended the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Reserve Academy and became a reserve officer. In December, he became a sheriff’s deputy in Jonesboro, Georgia, where he recently moved. And prior to that, he was a reserve officer in Florida.

"Identifying drug-impaired drivers can be very difficult, time consuming and costly," O'Neal said. "So it's specialized training that's needed to detect them."

O'Neal has demonstrated himself to be a powerhouse and role model both on and off the court. Taking to the streets and offering his celebrity status in support of law enforcement helps all communities. Further protecting our streets by speaking out against drugged driving and working to finance means to prevent drugged driving harm is a use of his power from which we can all will benefit.