Pubdate: Wed, 18 Oct 2017
Source: Winnipeg Sun (CN MB)
Copyright: 2017 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact: http://www.winnipegsun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.winnipegsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/503
Author: Edward Prutschi
Page: 11

WEEDING THROUGH THE SCIENCE

For a government that promised to legislate using evidence-based
science, the rapid approach of legalized marijuana in Canada is
starting to look like a case study in blind faith.

Last week, federal justice officials issued the next round of details
in their impending pot law.

In addition to existing impaired-by-drug laws that police are already
using to prosecute drugged drivers, three new criminal offences are
destined to be born to deal with pot-impaired driving all based on the
quantity of THC found in a person's body.

If you're caught with between two and five nanograms of THC per
millilitre of blood, you're facing a criminal conviction and a $1,000
fine.

Quantities over five nanograms, or 2.5 nanograms combined with a blood
alcohol concentration over .50 (as compared to the legal limit of .80
for alcohol impairment alone) will also carry $1,000 fines with
escalating jail sentences on subsequent offences.

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to join a panel at the
Parachute Canada Vision Zero safety summit.

After hobnobbing with scientists, senior police officials, and
visiting a CAMH cannabis research lab, I learned that the string
connecting our proposed new laws to any scientific foundation is
disturbingly thin.

There are currently zero devices approved for use in Canada to test
oral fluids for the presence of THC.

Even when (if?) such a device is established as accurate and approved,
there is no way to definitively state how many nanograms of THC might
cause a particular individual to become impaired.

The government admits the scientific challenges and cautions in its
proposed regulation, "THC is a more complex molecule than alcohol and
the science is unable to provide general guidance to drivers about how
much cannabis can be consumed before it is unsafe to drive or before
the proposed levels would be exceeded."

That's a pretty shocking statement which exposes an intractable
problem. Pot legalization is coming. Some increase in pot-impaired
driving is almost certain to come with it.

The government has promised an advertising campaign will be introduced
alongside legalization to educate the public about marijuana and the
new regulatory scheme but what can those ads tell users - particularly
younger users who will form the key target demographic?

How much marijuana can you consume and still be safe to drive? The
government doesn't know.

How much marijuana can you consume before you're over the legal limit?
The government doesn't know.

Does it matter if you smoke, vape or eat your pot? The government
doesn't know.

Does exceeding the legal limit even mean your ability to drive a car
is impaired? The government doesn't know.

The only things the government does know is that come July 1, 2018,
pot will be legal. What happens next is anyone's guess.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt