hoW
muCh
is too muCh?
Under Bill C-46,
the feds have laid
out maximum
THC levels and
penalties
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 0.05
first offence:
$1,000 min. fine
second offence:
30 days min. imprisonment
further offences:
120 days min. imprisonment
saskatchewan police
can also penalize
drivers under the
traffic safety act
• Immediate driver’s licence
suspension until the court
has disposed of the charge
• 30-day vehicle seizure
• 60-day vehicle seizure if
driver is also impaired by
alcohol with blood-alcohol
concentration over 0.16
Under the influence
There’s broad scientific agreement
that cannabis intoxication 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 it increases the
risk of a crash. Each person is affected
• Upon conviction, min.
one-year driving suspension
(to max. of five years); fine
of between $1,250–$2,500;
mandatory completion of
remedial course
behind
the Wheel
There’s no question:
Cannabis influences
driving ability;
here’s how
26
Winter 2018
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 saskatcheWan
Rawles/alamy;
Not every driver caught driving
under the influence of cannabis will
be criminally charged. In late 2017,
amendments to Saskatchewan’s Traffic
Safety Act created a number of new
provincial offences for drivers caught
with alcohol or drugs in their blood.
Drivers who are hit with a provincial
penalty for impaired driving will face
stiff consequences: an immediate
roadside licence suspension and 30-day
vehicle seizure. If both alcohol and
cannabis are detected, the vehi-
cle seizure goes up to 60
days. In addition to such
administrative penal-
ties, Saskatchewan
police may also
consider charges
under the Criminal
Code, including
imprisonment for
repeat offenders and
more serious offences.
Christine Niemczyk,
director of corporate
communications for CAA
Saskatchewan, cautions that the
prevention of cannabis-impaired
driving hinges upon people knowing
the risks. “To that end,” she says, “the
Canadian Automobile Association,
including CAA Saskatchewan,
along with federal and provincial
governments, have begun public-
education campaigns about the risks of
mixing cannabis and driving.”
by cannabis differently; there’s no
agreed-upon level of THC that’s “safe”
for everyone. Therefore it’s generally
best if drivers take a zero-tolerance
approach.
Unlike alcohol, which has a profound
effect on physical coordination even
at relatively low levels, cannabis’s most
pronounced effects are on the way a
person thinks—and how a driver might
react to unexpected occurrences on
the road. “Things like memory and
concentration are affected. Attention,
decision-making, and higher-order
planning and execution of complex tasks
are also impacted,” says Douglas
Beirness, senior research
and policy analyst with
the Canadian Centre on
Substance Abuse. “In
a driving situation,
that’s not going to
work real well.”
Some studies,
however, have
looked at the physical
dimension of cannabis
impairment; among
other things, they’ve shown
that drivers under the influence
of the drug 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 crash.
Research conducted in Washington
state, which made recreational cannabis
legal in 2012, has likewise been illum-
inating: In 2014, it was estimated
that the number of drivers with
THC in their bloodstream who were
involved in fatal accidents had nearly
doubled over the previous year,
suggesting that more people were
driving (and dying) with cannabis
in their bodies subsequent to the
drug’s legalization.
Cannabis
and driving