Canada - Government releases legal limits for drugged driving

S.J.B.

S.J.B.

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Government releases legal limits for drugged driving but can't say how much pot is too much
Peter Zimonjic, Catherine Cullen
CBC
October 13th, 2017

The federal government has released a draft of its planned drug concentration levels but admits the new rules provide no guidance on how much marijuana it would take to push a driver over the legal limit.

"It should be noted that THC is a more complex molecule than alcohol and the science is unable to provide general guidance to drivers about how much cannabis can be consumed before it is unsafe to drive or before the proposed levels would be exceeded," an analysis statement released with the draft regulations said.

The government also says that it cannot provide drivers any guidance as to how long they should wait before driving, operating a boat, train or aircraft after consuming cannabis.

"In this context, the safest approach for anyone who chooses to consume cannabis is to not mix their consumption with driving," the government said.
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Read the full story here.

Read the draft regulations here.
 
The government is going overboard here and they know that this is going to get pummeled in the courts.
 
I didn't have time to read the full article, does it state what the levels are?

Similar legislation like this in the states. In CA, not sure about other states, they have a mobile blood test and can test you on the spot if there are reasons to believe you are intoxicated and you do not blow a BAL.
 
Mafioso said:
I didn't have time to read the full article, does it state what the levels are?
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The levels are 5 ng/mL for THC, 5 mg/L for GHB, and any detectable amount for LSD, psilocybin, psilocin, PCP, 6-monoacetylmorphine (a heroin metabolite), ketamine, cocaine, and methamphetamine. If caught driving with these in your blood, you are liable to be charged with the Canadian equivalent of a felony, whether you are actually impaired or not. You are liable for the same charge if you have a combination of 2.5 ng/mL of THC and 50 mg / 100 mL of alcohol in your blood. There is an additional summary (equivalent to a misdemeanor) offence for having 2 ng/mL of THC.
 
The levels are 5 ng/mL for THC
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I wonder what our THC levels are set at here, possibly 3 ng/mL ? I also wonder how variations of use effect a positive reading. Like for example bongs, joints, vapes, edibles, oil. And if mixing weed with tobacco makes any difference.

I wish I could buy a tester for saliva THC tests that were re usable thousands of times so I could test myself.
 
falsifiedhypothesi said:
It doesn't seem right for the cops to be able to pull you over and do a blood test. How invasive is this test?
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Right now, the cops can administer an alcohol breath test only in the case that they have a reasonable suspicion that a driver is impaired. However, in the same bill that is being used to create these new drugged-driving offences, the government is changing the rules so that random roadside testing can be performed. Presumably, any breath or saliva tests for other drugs will follow the same rules, and I believe they are considering the options so that they can have THC saliva tests ready to go as soon as possible. The police will not, however, be able to randomly stop someone and take a blood sample by sticking a needle in their arm. That can only be done subsequent to an arrest for impaired driving or some other offence where a blood test would be relevant.
 
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falsifiedhypothesi said:
It doesn't seem right for the cops to be able to pull you over and do a blood test. How invasive is this test?
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It happened to me, but I was involved in a wreck that was clearly my fault. I refused the test and they got a warrant for my blood. Tbh I barely remember the test but I was pretty wrecked on pills.
 
S.J.B. said:
Right now, the cops can administer an alcohol breath test only in the case that they have a reasonable suspicion that a driver is impaired. However, in the same bill that is being used to create these new drugged-driving offences, the government is changing the rules so that random roadside testing can be performed. Presumably, any breath tests for other drugs will follow the same rules, and I believe they are considering the options so that they can have THC breath tests ready to go as soon as possible. The police will not, however, be able to randomly stop someone and take a blood sample by sticking a needle in their arm. That can only be done subsequent to an arrest for impaired driving or some other offence where a blood test would be relevant.
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Breath tests for other drugs? How is that going to work? Alcohol (ethanol) can be breath-tested for because it's a very volatile substance and escapes blood in the form of a gas in the lungs; other drugs, especially salt ones like meth, LSD etc are practically non-volatile at room temp. The test would have to be exceptionally sensitive, considering how little LSD one has to take to feel effects.

Saliva tests are much more sensible.
 
The saliva tests here for THC are apparently very inaccurate and can sometimes test positive many days (even up to a week on one dude who took it to court).

I've read if you are a high user of cannabis, as in many times a day and night you will have more chance of testing positive as well, even if you have had a break of say 8 hours or something because the more regular you use the longer it will be staying in your fat and system.

It's a crap system, I really hope they can come up with something better and more accurate. So many people here have lost their licenses and been given large fines for 'having an illegal drug (say THC) in their system whilst driving. It's not even about if you are impaired or not here, it's about if they can detect a positive for an illegal substance whilst you are driving.
 
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