hoW
muCh
is too muCh?
Under Bill C-46,
the feds have laid
out maximum
THC levels and
penalties for drivers:
2 to 5 nanograms (ng)
per ml of blood
$1,000 max. fine
5 ng/ml or more,
or 2.5 ng/ml plus
blood-alcohol level
of 50 mg% or more
First offence:
$1,000 min. fine
Second offence:
30 days min. imprisonment
Further offences:
120 days min. imprisonment
Upon receiving blood
sample analysis
results, police in
Manitoba can issue:
90-day driver’s licence
suspension and 30-day
vehicle impoundment with
5 ng/mL or more, or 2.5
ng/mL plus blood-alcohol
level of 50 mg% or more
Upon conviction:
The accused person will also
be subject to the ignition
interlock program*
*Impaired drivers may be
charged with additional
offences if their actions
cause property damage,
injury or death.
bEhind
thE WhEEl
There’s no question:
Cannabis influences
driving ability;
here’s how
Cannabis
and driving
Not every motorist caught driving
under the influence of cannabis will
be criminally charged. In late 2017,
Manitoba’s Cannabis Harm Prevention
Act was passed to ensure that police
agencies will be better equipped to deal
with drug-impaired drivers.
Though drivers who are hit with a
provincial penalty for impaired driving
won’t face the daunting possibility of
a Criminal Code conviction, they’ll
still face stiff consequences. That
could mean an immediate
24-hour roadside licence
suspension up to a
10-year suspension,
and a minimum 120-
day jail sentence for a
third conviction.
Liz Kulyk, CAA
Manitoba’s corporate
manager of government
and community relations,
acknowledges that many
positive steps have been made. “The
legislative framework in Manitoba
is quite robust. The government has
brought forth and passed several
measures to put drug-impaired driving
front and centre,” she says. “But it
must be a continuing effort to ensure
that research is dedicated to the link
between THC and impairment.”
Drug-impaired driving prevention
will not be finished until drivers under-
stand the true risks involved. To that
end, CAA National, as well as federal
and provincial governments, have all
begun public-education campaigns
about the risks of using cannabis.
Under the influence
There’s broad scientific agreement that
cannabis can change driver behaviour.
What’s less clear, however, is the
amount of the drug that’s needed to
impair driving, and the extent to which
its increases the risk of a crash. Each
person is affected by cannabis differ-
ently; there’s no agreed upon level of
THC that’s “safe” for everyone. The
government is therefore taking a
zero-tolerance approach.
“Cannabis is commonly administered
by smoking,” says Constable Stephane
Fontaine, impaired driving counter-
measures coordinator at the Winnipeg
Police Service (WPS). “THC absorbs
rapidly in the lungs and moves through
the body and brain.” It can impact your
attention, coordination, decision
making, and reaction time.
“That means a driver might
experience difficulty
staying in their lane or
maintaining a constant
speed,” Fontaine says.
Research shows
that drivers under
the influence are more
prone to drifting across
traffic lanes. A 2012 study
by researchers at Dalhousie
University in Halifax found that
recent use of cannabis nearly doubles a
driver’s risk of being seriously injured
or killed in a vehicle collision.
Fontaine expects marijuana legaliza-
tion to increase drug-impaired driving.
“Bill C-45 essentially introduces another
legal substance that has the potential to
impair a person’s driving ability.” Like
CAA Manitoba, he believes that public
education about the dangers of driving
under the influence of cannabis should
be at the forefront.
EnforCEmEnt
on thE road
oNe of the biggest changes to police
powers under Bill C-46 has nothing to
do with cannabis. The law gives police
officers the ability to undertake random
roadside screening. An officer can »
Coordination reaCtion time ConCentration deCision-making distanCes
Steering and
other car
instrument
handling can be
diminished. Drivers on
cannabis
are slower to
respond to road
situations. Attention
can greatly
diminish under
the influence of
the drug. Cannabis
compromises
your ability to
make sound
driving choices. Impairs ability
to judge distance
to other vehicles,
pedestrians and
cyclists.
cAA MANitoBA
FAll 2018
33