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Legal marijuana creates impaired driving issues: Police Chief

Dec 29, 2016 | 5:00 AM

With Canada’s federal government poised to legalize marijuana in 2017, Prince Albert’s police chief said the new laws will come with challenges for his department, particularly around impaired driving.

“We’re waiting to see when that legislation’s going to come out,” Chief Troy Cooper told paNOW. “There’s issues and concerns around the production of marijuana and who’s going to sell it, and whether or not that’s going to have an impact on organized crime.”

Cooper said he has been paying close attention to the challenges faced by police in the United States, where several states have already legalized the drug for recreational use.

“We know that they struggled with issues around impaired driving by drugs,” Cooper said. “For us that’s a real concern, and it’s something that we’re hopeful that the government assists us with as they roll this out to make sure that we do have the tools to keep the community safe.”

While police do not currently have a roadside screening test which can detect marijuana as reliably as a breathalyzer detects alcohol, Cooper said he was happy to see a recommendation by Canada’s Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation to develop better tests.

“They recommend that some of the resources that the government gets from the sale of marijuana be turned towards research and development of a tool to help police address impaired driving by drugs,” Cooper said.

Better roadside tests for drug impairment are already in development across Canada. In the wake of recommendations by the task force, a pilot program was introduced to conduct field testing of saliva-based screening kits in several parts of the country, including North Battleford.

“It’s just simply a testing phase,” Cooper said. He added his department has been watching the pilot closely.

Cooper said he has more questions about the legalization of marijuana, including how much regulatory control will be given to cities and provinces, but these will likely be answered in coming months.

“The jury’s out,” he said. “I guess we’ll wait and see what the legislation actually looks like when it gets here.”

 

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

@TMacPhersonNews