drive
Taking the High Road?
a look at how legalizing marijuana impacts road safety
By RoBin sChRoffel
Canada is on the Cusp of significant
changes as the federal government
considers legalizing marijuana for rec-
reational use.
Although Saskatchewan hasn’t yet
experienced the recent boom in dis-
pensaries seen in B.C. and Ontario,
the province already has two federally
licensed producers currently serving
hundreds of medical marijuana users—
with more likely to follow as legislation
is debated this year.
Legalizing marijuana is a compli-
cated issue on many fronts, not least of
which are those connected to driving.
CAA doesn’t choose sides: We focus
our attention on marijuana and traffic
safety. A recent study by the American
Automobile Association (AAA) offers a
timely reminder that with the impen-
ding changes to cannabis laws, atten-
tion to road safety issues is vital.
To date, eight American jurisdictions
have legalized recreational and medical
marijuana use, while another 21 states
have legalized it for medical use and
15 more are considering doing so this
year. Washington went legal in 2012,
and research conducted in the state
between 2010 and 2014 found that the
percentage of drivers involved in fatal
crashes who’d recently used marijuana
more than doubled between 2013
and 2014 (rising from eight to 17
percent). In other words, one in six
drivers involved in a fatal crash had
marijuana in their bloodstream.
Closer to home, a 2015 report by the
Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse
shows that among young drivers, it’s
more common to drive after cannabis
use than after drinking; that marijuana
use impairs the cognitive and motor
abilities necessary for driving and
doubles the risk of crash involvement;
and that after alcohol, marijuana is the
most commonly detected substance
among drivers who die in crashes.
It’s important to note that a growing
body of evidence suggests marijuana
impairment isn’t as straightforward
as alcohol intoxication. The level of
tetrahydrocannabinol—a.k.a. THC,
the main psychoactive component in
marijuana—in the bloodstream that
results in intoxication is not yet known.
And the drug affects individuals
differently: One person with a high
amount of THC in their system may
not be impaired, while another with
low levels may be unable to safely
operate a vehicle. As such, limits
like those for alcohol have not been
introduced in Canada.
Exactly how marijuana use affects
drivers is not completely understood.
It’s clear that more research needs to
be done to gain a thorough under-
standing of the effects of marijuana
use on drivers, but also to learn how
to reliably detect impairment and to
develop consistent and fair guidelines
in order to ensure road safety.
In Canada, new technologies are
being examined. The RCMP is con-
sidering roadside saliva screening
devices, like those used in Europe and
Australia, to detect the presence of
THC. Law enforcement agencies are
also working to ensure officers are
able to recognize impairment through
behaviour, with some undergoing
additional drug-recognition training.
While there will be substantial cost
implications associated with training
police officers, developing roadside
tests and analysis, and collecting data,
CAA strongly advocates for more such
research and testing.
CAA recently commissioned a study
to better understand the driving impli-
cations of legalization—to ensure road
safety remains at the forefront of the
issue. The study, conducted by the
Traffic Injury Research Foundation,
revealed three priorities, which are
also endorsed by CAA, when it comes
to drugged driving: more public
education, stiffer penalties for those
who drive high, and better tools for
law enforcement. For complete study
findings, visit caa.ca/drugdriving.
Public education will continue to
play a key role in raising awareness
about drugged driving, just as it
has with drinking and driving. CAA
recognizes the importance of these
impending changes in Canadian law,
and we will be here to make sure road
safety doesn’t take a back seat.
CAA saskatchewan
summer 2017
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