Pubdate: Wed, 19 Apr 2017
Source: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser (CN ON)
Copyright: 2017 METROLAND MEDIA GROUP LTD.
Contact:  http://www.durhamregion.com/durhamregion-news/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2104

LIBERALS MUST MAKE DRUG-IMPAIRED DRIVING ENFORCEMENT A PRIORITY WHEN 
LEGALIZING POT

Legalized use of marijuana is on the doorstep as the federal Liberals
have started the legislative process in earnest. Bills introduced on
Parliament Hill last Thursday will establish the legal parameters for
the production, sale, distribution and possession of marijuana.

Now, with marijuana to be fully legalized by Canada Day in 2018, there
needs to be great care taken by the Liberals to craft legislation that
not only provides serious consequences for the sale of the drug to
minors, but also for using marijuana and driving.

But, as we know, laws without enforcement amount to a toothless tiger,
so the government has to make provisions to effectively deal with the
new reality of legal pot.

There's a lot riding on such legislation. It simply has to be tough,
so it's heartening to know decriminalization of pot will come with
'significant penalties' for those who engage young Canadians in
'cannabis-related offences' and a 'zero-tolerance approach' to
drug-impaired driving.

On the driving impairment side of the ledger, drunk drivers kill
innocent people on Canadian roads every day; adding those who've
smoked marijuana and then drove can only add up to more needless
highway deaths. Based on what's going on in other North American
jurisdictions that have legalized marijuana, it appears the federal
government may be waging an uphill battle when it comes to smoking
marijuana and driving.

In a 2016 study conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, it
examined drug tests and fatal crashes among drivers in Washington
State where marijuana was legalized in December 2012. Researchers
discovered the percentage of drivers involved in fatal crashes who
recently used marijuana more than doubled to 17 from eight per cent
between 2013 and 2014. One in six drivers involved in fatal crashes in
2014 had recently used marijuana, which is the most recent data available.

Proposed Liberal legislation would allow for roadside saliva and blood
tests if police suspect a driver has drugs in their body. It would
also toughen existing drug-impaired driving provisions in the Criminal
Code and create new offences for having specified levels of a drug in
the blood within two hours of driving. The legislation would also
stiffen certain minimum fines and maximum penalties and restrict
defences that make it harder to enforce laws.

There must be an effort by the federal government to provide the
provinces with the tools - and money - they will need to train police
officers in drug impairment recognition and testing.

Tougher laws, yes; but without effective enforcement, it all goes up
in smoke.
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MAP posted-by: Matt