Pubdate: Wed, 01 Sep 2004 Source: Province, The (CN BC) - -4cd3-b005-39ebfa0aceff Copyright: 2004 The Province Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476 Author: Lena Sin PROVING POT IMPAIRMENT TOUGH WITH NO LEGAL LIMITS Why is it so difficult to convict someone for impairment by marijuana? Under Section 253 of the Criminal Code, a driver can be charged for operating a vehicle while impaired by alcohol or a drug. There is also an additional offence set out for alcohol, making it an offence to drive with more than a certain amount of alcohol in your blood. But there is no such specification for what level of pot must be found in your blood before a driver is considered to be impaired, because possessing and smoking pot in itself is illegal. "Parliament cannot give us a legal limit for the simple reason that it is illegal to simply use it or possess marijuana," said Crown counsel Winston Sayson. In addition, THC -- the active ingredient in pot -- tends to dissipate quickly, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact level of THC in a driver during the time he was operating a vehicle. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh