Handling of high drivers, border crossers still being ironed out, officials say
OTTAWA — Days before recreational cannabis use becomes legal in Canada, federal officials acknowledge many details of the new regime have yet to be worked out, including how police will grapple with procedures for laying drug-impaired driving charges.
New impaired driving offences that took effect at the end of June set limits on how much THC, the primary psychoactive element in marijuana, a person can legally have in their system before they face penalties ranging from a $1,000 fine to a one-year driving suspension, to up to 120 days in jail.
But to prove the offences, the federal government says police will have to take blood samples within a two-hour window.
And, even before that, a specially trained officer will be required to get a suspected high driver out of their vehicle and administer preliminary tests.