Driving under the influence: what to expect from legal marijuana
In 2016, Canada relaxed its restrictions on marijuana. Dispensaries, which populate a dubious space of legality, began popping up all over Toronto and Vancouver, permitting countless people access to the drug.
In 2017, our country is expected to continue the move toward full legalization, making the sale and purchase of marijuana acceptable, even beyond medical use. Though the timeline for full legalization remains hazy, the increased access to marijuana for Canadians has spurred questions about its more widespread uses.
One such question is how marijuana relates to the rules of the road.
Is it legal to drive while high?
No. Even though marijuana is, in many cases, a medicinal drug, it is illegal for people to use while, or prior to operating a vehicle. But unlike driving while drunk, the definitive rules are less overt.
But it’s a little more complicated
The government has struggled to define what it means to be “impaired” by marijuana. Whereas there is a legal level of blood-alcohol content that is used to determine whether a person is too drunk to drive, there is no such metric in place to offer a comparable judgment with marijuana.
As stated by Global News, police have resorted to some subjective and cumbersome tactics in the past. In one instance, an 11-step checklist was administered to judge whether a driver was impaired. The list included points like pupil size and the woman’s ability to balance on one leg.
These obviously improvised methods have led the government to invest in educating officers on how to accurately determine a person’s impairment level. While the training may be beneficial, it is both time-consuming and expensive, and remains imperfect.
Some studies have sought to establish a THC-blood level that when crossed, defines impairment. The issue with this method is that THC remains in the blood far longer than alcohol, so a driver showing impaired levels may be completely sober.
What happens if a driver is impaired?
If a driver is determined to be impaired, he or she will be subject to the same penalties of driving under the influence of alcohol. For first time offenders, this includes a license suspension, a potential fine and loss of demerit points and the impoundment of the driver’s vehicle. It also doesn’t look great to your insurance provider.
Many believe that driving stoned presents the same risks as driving drunk, and so the same penalties are applied.
Moving forward
The government is having a difficult time defining all elements of the equation. Presumably, as full legalization nears, new laws will be put in place and some initiative will be made to inform the public about the use of marijuana and how it relates to driving.
The obvious solution for anyone looking to avoid a charge is to not drive after consuming marijuana. But of course, if everyone were willing to follow that simple rule, we would never hear heart-breaking tales of motorist killed by drunk-drivers.