BC behind in dealing with marijuana-impaired driving

[maryjane48]

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/brit ... -1.4436060

Exactly what i have been saying . Drunk laws wont work on pot .judges willbe tossing them out like old napkins

[GordonH]

Wonder how many drivers (along with there passengers) with be killed by pot smoking drivers in BC. Before government gets there heads out of their as es and passes zero tolerances for drugs & alcohol.

[maryjane48]

Wonder how many drivers (along with there passengers) with be killed by pot smoking drivers in BC. Before government gets there heads out of their as es and passes zero tolerances for drugs & alcohol.

Same as now..zero

[Veovis]

Same as now..zero

opinion does not = fact

[maryjane48]

What opinion? Theres no cops that can honestly say they attended a car accident and the driver only had pot in system
But texting drinking tired. Not so much

[Gixxer]

Zero
Wheres the stats/facts that marijuana alone was the contributing factor in traffic fatalities?

[alanjh595]

Canada Deaths due to Impaired driving

369 deaths, or 15.2%, occurred in crashes involving drivers who were positive for alcohol alone.
683 deaths, or 28.1%, occurred in crashes involving drivers who were positive for drugs alone.
399 deaths, or 16.4%, occurred in crashes involving drivers who were positive for both alcohol and drugs.

http://madd.ca/pages/impaired-driving/o ... tatistics/

The percentage of fatally-injured drivers testing positive for drugs increased from 2000 to 2013, and the
most common drug found was cannabis. This trend will likely continue, if not accelerate, with the increase
in lawful medical marijuana use. In May 2008, fewer than 2,650 individuals were legally authorized to
possess marijuana for medical purposes and by September 2015 the number had increased to over 30,500.
As of December 31, 2016, the number had risen to almost 130,000.10 At this rate, the number of licensed
medical marijuana users may well exceed the earlier estimate that there would be more than 435,000
medical marijuana users by 2024.

http://madd.ca/pages/wp-content/uploads ... c-2017.pdf

From Health Canada

April 2017

Impaired driving is the leading criminal cause of death and injury in Canada. The Government has committed to creating new and stronger laws to punish more severely those who drive while under the influence of drugs, including cannabis.

Part 1 – Drug-impaired driving
Roadside oral fluid drug screeners

Following a legal roadside stop, law enforcement would be authorized to demand that a driver provide an oral fluid sample if they reasonably suspect that a driver has drugs in their body. A positive reading would assist in developing reasonable grounds to believe that an offence has been committed. Once the officer has reasonable grounds to believe an offence has been committed, they could demand a drug evaluation by an “evaluating officer”, or a blood sample.

Drug-impaired driving offences

The legislation would also create three new offences for having specified levels of a drug in the blood within two hours of driving. The penalties would depend on the drug type and the levels of drug or the combination of alcohol and drugs.

These elements were included in the proposed legislation after careful consideration of the available scientific evidence on cannabis and driving.

The levels would be set by regulation. For THC (the main psychoactive compound in cannabis), the proposed levels would be:

2 nanograms (ng) but less than 5 ng of THC: Having at least 2 ng but less than 5 ng of THC per millilitre (ml) of blood within two hours of driving would be a separate summary conviction criminal offence, punishable only by a fine. This lower level offence is a precautionary approach that takes into account the best available scientific evidence related to cannabis. This offence would be punishable by a maximum fine of up to $1,000.
5 ng or more of THC: Having 5 ng or more of THC per ml of blood within two hours of driving would be a hybrid offence. Hybrid offences are offences that can be prosecuted either by indictment, in more serious cases, or by summary conviction, in less serious cases.
Combined THC and Alcohol: Having a blood alcohol concentration of 50 milligrams (mg) of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, combined with a THC level greater than 2.5 ng per ml of blood within two hours of driving would also be a hybrid offence.
Both hybrid offences would be punishable by mandatory penalties of $1,000 for a first offence and escalating penalties for repeat offenders (e.g., 30 days imprisonment on a second offence and 120 days on a third or subsequent offence).

The maximum penalties would mirror the existing maximum penalties for impaired driving. These would be increased in Part 2 to two years less a day on summary conviction (up from 18 months), and to 10 years on indictment (up from 5 years). The latter would make a dangerous offender application possible in appropriate circumstances.

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/ ... glaws.html

[alanjh595]

Motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of unintentional injury death across all ages in BC. The majority of collisions involve injury to occupants but injury also occurs among pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists resulting in approximately 1.2 fatalities and 18 hospitalizations per day in BC. Impaired driving (alcohol, drugs or medications) and distracted driving (ex. mobile phone use) are risk factors for motor vehicle collisions which costs the BC healthcare system approximately $8.8 billion per year.

The majority of motor vehicle collisions involve injury to occupants, yet many motor vehicle-related injuries can occur among pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.
In BC there are 1.2 motor vehicle fatalities and 18 motor vehicle injury-related hospitalizations per day.
The age group with the highest number of deaths and hospitalizations due to motor vehicle collisions is those aged 20-24 years, particularly males.
There are over 6500 motor vehicle-related hospitalizations per year, equating to almost 40,000 days in hospital.
There are approximately 430 deaths due to motor vehicle crashes in BC each year.
The age group with the greatest percentage of deaths are those aged 15-24 years, representing over 20% of motor vehicle crash deaths.

http://www.injuryresearch.bc.ca/quick-f ... r-vehicle/

[alanjh595]

Canadian surveys suggest that dri­vers who use cannabis are at increased risk of crashing. Asbridge and colleagues surveyed Canadian students and found that those who drove after using cannabis were almost twice as likely to have crashed their car. Mann and colleagues analyzed surveys of Ontario adults and also found that cannabis-using drivers were more like­ly to crash

After alcohol, cannabis is the second most widely used impairing drug in the world, and many Canadians drive after using cannabis. The rate of cannabis use in BC drivers is particularly high. A 2008 BC survey in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island found that 8.1% of drivers had been drinking and 10.4% tested positive for drugs, including 4.6% for cannabis.

There is clear evidence that canna­bis, like alcohol, impairs the psycho­motor skills required for safe driving.[2] Cannabis intoxication slows reaction time and impairs automated tasks such as tracking ability (staying within a lane) or monitoring the speedometer.

Many British Columbia drivers use cannabis. Cannabis impairs the psychomotor skills required for safe driving, and the available epidemiological evidence suggests that canna­bis does increase the risk of crashing.

http://www.bcmj.org/council-health-prom ... le-crashes

NOW.....Those are FACTS.

[alanjh595]

Fatal car crashes triple among drivers high on marijuana...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plan to legalize marijuana should take into account “sobering” U.S. experiences where the first states to legalize the drug have seen big increases in fatal car crashes among cannabis-impaired drivers, according to a B.C. doctors’ group.

Nanaimo General Hospital emergency room Dr. Chris Rumball said in an opinion piece in the B.C. Medical Journal, which he wrote on behalf of the council.

Indeed, marijuana is the most frequently detected drug in crash-involved drivers, after alcohol. So while the Canadian government intends to legalize recreational use of marijuana in 2017, studies are indicating that road safety concerns must be considered in the consequences, he said. And various levels of governments must find ways to mitigate the risks of driving while impaired by marijuana.

Apart from more deaths related to stoned drivers, Rumball cites the lack of any scientifically proven and practical roadside testing tools for police which means that sobriety testing is left to only the most highly trained officers. When police suspect a driver is drug-impaired, they can demand a Field Sobriety Test. If the driver fails, they can be compelled to go to a police station for further evaluation and ordered to submit a blood, urine or saliva sample.

http://vancouversun.com/health/local-he ... gton-state

[Jflem1983]

Our pot laws are not being enforced at all. Good friend got busted with a package . Not even a court date.

[Chyren]

What opinion? Theres no cops that can honestly say they attended a car accident and the driver only had pot in system
But texting drinking tired. Not so much

How in the heck can you say "no cops" when you hold your opinions based on serious bias? How can you even make this claim? Take 30 seconds, re-read your post, and then take another 30 seconds, re read your post again and then come to some kind of rational solution.

Marihuana impairs. That fact that consumers like you are more concerned about getting access to legal pot instead of being concerned about how the government is pushing it through before law enforcement and science is even close to being ready.

I've seen you and others like you post over and over and over about the merits of its medicinal value yet, when it goes legal you post things like "get out your bongs"

Its coming. Congratulations on the victory. You better be ready to pay taxes on it and also be ready to begin your upcoming July 2nd 2018 post entitled "Government charges too much tax on Pot" thread which I'm sure is the next big complaint from Pot users.

[alanjh595]

By the government putting a tax on weed, anyone that is involved in the Black Market sales end of the business, will now have to face CRA and be subject to their investigation methods.
Including:
business,
personal,
credit card,
vehicle purchases,
welfare,
Employment Insurance claims,
WCB claims,
MVA claims,
Pharmacare,
Subsidized Medical,

And they can review your Tax returns for the previous 5 years too.

[Jflem1983]

By the government putting a tax on weed, anyone that is involved in the Black Market sales end of the business, will now have to face CRA and be subject to their investigation methods.
Including:
business,
personal,
credit card,
vehicle purchases,
welfare,
Employment Insurance claims,
WCB claims,
MVA claims,
Pharmacare,
Subsidized Medical,

And they can review your Tax returns for the previous 5 years too.

They can and do do all that bs now. What for. Waste of time. Criminals will never pay taxes they can avoid.

[alanjh595]

By the government putting a tax on weed, anyone that is involved in the Black Market sales end of the business, will now have to face CRA and be subject to their investigation methods.
Including:
business,
personal,
credit card,
vehicle purchases,
welfare,
Employment Insurance claims,
WCB claims,
MVA claims,
Pharmacare,
Subsidized Medical,

And they can review your Tax returns for the previous 5 years too.

They can and do do all that bs now. What for. Waste of time. Criminals will never pay taxes they can avoid.

If they get caught not paying taxes, they could have all of their benefits frozen until the CRA has a good deep look into the last 5 years of your tax returns. That may take another 2-3 years wait time before they get around to it, in the mean time everything you have could be frozen and held in trust until they review your file and either charge you with tax evasion or release your stuff.