Canada: New enforcement rules on drug-impaired driving

E-llusion

E-llusion

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Police forces across Canada will have new powers to crack down on drug-impaired driving after the holiday weekend, federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson reminded Canadians on Friday.

Beginning Wednesday, officers will be able to gather evidence against drivers suspected of being high behind the wheel.

Drug-impaired driving is already a Criminal Code offence, but the new legislation will compel those drivers to take a roadside test, such as walking a straight line.

They can also be taken to a police station for more intensive tests. If they fail those, they could be ordered to give a blood, urine or saliva sample.

Refusing the roadside test would be a criminal offence, as is the case for refusing a breathalyzer.

"As of July 2, if you are caught driving impaired, you will be held fully accountable for your actions,” Nicholson said as he and representatives of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) praised the new measures.

Stan Thomson was 18 when he and four friends were killed in a car crash nine years ago. They were involved in a pileup outside Ottawa that was triggered by a teenager in the group of friends who pulled out to pass. He and the others had been smoking marijuana.

Father takes on mission

Thomson's father, Gregg of Kanata, Ont., has been campaigning against drug-impaired driving since his son's death.

"We are today with drugs and driving where we were with alcohol and driving 15 years ago. We are that far behind the curve, so many more people are going to die before we get this resolved," he said.

Doug Beirness, a research manager with the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, said the problem of drug-impaired driving may not be at the level of drunk driving, but it's still substantial.

"When we look at data from drivers who die on the roadways, up to 30 per cent of them test positive for some substance other than alcohol," he said.

The new law will also cover impairment from prescription drugs that have been taken incorrectly.

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Justice minister heralds new enforcement rules on drug-impaired driving
New legislation takes effect Wednesday

Last Updated: Friday, June 27, 2008 | 11:49 AM ET

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/06/27/drug-driving.html?ref=rss
 
USA to Follow?

I think that this is a great idea. For one thing, i have to agree that marijuana does in fact impair your driving. Even though it may take a few years, i think that the same law will be passed here in the states. If they do legalize MJ here, the problem will probably be more widespread. I'm all for safe use and access, but not while driving under the influence. =D
 
so wait, they are going to determine whether you are impaired, and then punish you... how the hell is that different from before!? 8)
 
so imagine this: you are pulled over and suspected of driving under the influence of drugs, you haven't been drinking enough water and your kinda hungry right? you smoked some pot before you went to bed, but don't get stoned before work, which is where your going. you get up too fast and sorta stumble out of the drivers seat, low blood pressure, these things happen. officer whats-his-face slaps the cuffs on you and takes you to the police station where a saliva test is administered and you come up dirty.
 
its stupid because you could get booked for "being under the influence" even when you smoked the day before, and it still shows up in the urine test. what kinda bullshit would that be.
 
I really don't feel that I'm any worse of a driver when I'm high. I've had three wrecks and was totally sober each time, which could just be coincedental. But if anything, I feel I'm a safer driver when I'm high. I'm not nearly as aggressive and never feel I need to rush. And just because somebody is high when they caused a wreck doesn't automatically mean being high is what caused the person to crash.
 
seriously fuck this law

smoking a spliff while driving is like

heaven

:)

you see all these larvas being miserable in the traffic, but man, your smoking that funky green, and yeah, it's allllllrighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhht

soon you will have to drive with both hands on the wheel

or you will get a ticket
 
Smoking weed behind the wheel is about as cool as drunk driving. For some reason people seem to think that it's alright, or less dangerous because it's harder to get caught (there's no breathalyzer for weed). Any mind altering substance while driving should be an obvious no no (even caffeine in excessive amounts). Driving itself is dangerous enough.

With that being said, it's very hard to prosecute people for this. But, to be fair, doing drugs is illegal, so you can't blame the cops 100%. Sucks, but it's true. You have to take personal responsibility somewhere. I don't like it any more than anyone else, but I go into doing something like this knowing the consequences it could yield, and while i might think that they suck, when I do get punished, I simply have to accept it, since I made the decision some time back.

That's my take on that, lol.
 
I just don't get it. Pot stays in your system for awhile how can they prove you were stoned at the moment that your were pulled over. Also isn't pot semi legal in parts Canada? Not that I'm saying cause it's legal that makes it ok alcohol is legal as well but in my opinion impairs people much more than weed(at least weed doesn't make it so you can't tell up from down or give you the spins)I will admit though that I am guilty of driving stoned sometimes, so i guess I'm fucked. However, I've never been in a wreck or even gotten a ticket in the 9 years that I have been driving I have a perfect record. I duno though some people just suck at driving stoned or not lol.
 
I do not think that this law will be passed in the US. At least not as a Federal law. Maybe some states will pass something like this, but here in WA I doubt it would be constitutional. It is not constitutional here to have road blocks to check for impaired drivers, and they cannot force you take a field sobriety test, only a breathalyzer. A blood test can only be done if there is an accident that results in 'grievous bodily harm or death.' So i highly doubt a law like this will pass here, as well as in a number of other states.
 
FDRinTRINIDAD said:
Also isn't pot semi legal in parts Canada?
Click to expand...
It changes from time to time up here. It's been a legal medicine for a while (federally, unlike the States) but the current possession laws are unclear:
http://www.thepotlawhasfallen.ca/
Legal or not, I think that this new law is going to have a lot of problems. As someone already said, you can't do a breathalyzer test for cannabis, therefore unlike alcohol there can never be concrete proof that someone is under the influence. However, I will agree that being under the influence of any mind altering substance behind the wheel is bad news.
 
They have it here in Australia and I think they are a great idea. Driving stoned or on mdma etc can be incredibly dangerous, I think the key is to make the tests not overly sensitive though so to avoid you getting picked up unless you honestly are high at the time.
 
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