Pubdate: Tue, 10 Dec 2002
Source: Kitchener-Waterloo Record (CN ON)
Copyright: 2002 Kitchener-Waterloo Record
Contact:  http://www.therecord.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/225
Author: Dianne Wood, Record Staff

JUDGE DISMISSES IMPAIRED CHARGE

Not Convinced Marijuana Affected Teenager's Ability to Drive Vehicle

KITCHENER -- The odour of marijuana may have been wafting from Paulo 
Silva's car when a cop stopped him last winter.

But it's a leap to say the pot impaired his ability to drive, a Kitchener 
judge ruled yesterday.

"There's no one to tell me what marijuana is, no evidence to tell me what 
effects marijuana has on the body, what effects it has on the ability to 
drive," Justice Bruce Frazer said.

Because of the lack of such evidence, he dismissed a charge of impaired 
driving against Silva, 19.

At Silva's trial, court heard police received a call on Dec. 29, 2001, 
about possible drug activity in a house near Lancaster Street in Kitchener. 
They went out and spotted Silva's car backing quickly out of a driveway.

His car seemed to be weaving slightly in the lane, so Const. Glen Poole 
stopped him. He smelled marijuana in the car and saw a smoky haze, court 
heard. Silva's eyes looked glassy and pink or red, and he appeared dazed 
and confused.

Silva admitted he'd inhaled two puffs of pot from a pipe earlier outside 
the car, but denied smoking in the car. The officer also questioned his 
passenger.

The teens showed the officer some marijuana in a side door panel of the 
car. A pipe was under the seat.

Silva was also charged with possession of pot.

But the judge said he didn't have enough evidence to rule Silva's driving 
had been impaired.

The apparent lane-weaving could have been due to the road being slippery 
and snow-covered and the lane markings invisible, Frazer said.

"The driving was as much consistent with weather conditions as it would 
have been with an impaired driver," Silva's lawyer, Brad Dempster, said 
outside court.

And though the officer said Silva's movements were slow, the judge 
questioned whether that was proof of impairment. There was nothing to 
suggest Silva's co-ordination or balance were affected, he said.

"There were no disturbances of thought or speech," he noted. Silva pulled 
over his car in a controlled manner and was able to retrieve his wallet 
easily, the judge said.

"I'm left in some doubt as to whether or not you were impaired by marijuana."

The judge gave Silva a conditional discharge for possession of marijuana 
and put him on 11 months probation.

Despite his ruling, the judge also ordered Silva to write a report for his 
probation officer on the potential effects of ingesting "toxic substances" 
while driving. He didn't specify whether marijuana was included as a toxic 
substance.

Dempster said he assumed the judge was referring to alcohol and drugs in 
general.