More than half of P.E.I.'s impaired driving charges this year have been for cannabis
CBC
RCMP on P.E.I. have charged three dozen people for impaired driving so far in 2024, and alcohol wasn't the only cause of impairment. In fact, the majority of those arrests were related to cannabis use.
Nineteen of the 36 charges laid since the start of the year related to driving under the influence of cannabis.
Cpl. Gavin Moore, who speaks for the RCMP on P.E.I., said impaired drivers are stopped by both regular officers and specialized officers in the traffic unit.
Just like alcohol, cannabis can impair coordination, reaction time and decision-making skills needed for safe driving, he said.
"There may be indicators of intoxication by cannabis," Moore said. "This could be fresh smoke, this could be product, this could be watery eyes."
During the first weekend of March, four of six impaired drivers were charged for cannabis use, with all four failing a roadside test. The following weekend, P.E.I. RCMP charged two more drug-impaired drivers.
"Officers have roadside screening devices for cannabis," said Moore. "This is an instrument where the officer would make a demand and take a sample of saliva from inside the cheek of the driver."
If the test indicates a high level of THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, an officer can demand a blood test, which is what will ultimately be used as evidence of impairment.
According to the Criminal Code of Canada, the minimum threshold for cannabis impairment while driving is two nanograms of THC per millilitre of blood, with five nanograms constituting a more serious offence.
In 2023, P.E.I. RCMP laid charges in 76 cannabis-impaired investigations out of a total of 230 impaired driving charges.
The drivers' method of consuming the drug varies, but Moore said most arrests involved people smoking it.
"We've had a number of training tools that have been provided to police in recent years, in particular with regards to cannabis," he said.
Karen Clinton is president of the Charlottetown and eastern P.E.I. chapters of MADD Canada, or Mothers Against Drunk Driving. She said whether a driver is consuming cannabis through smoking, vaping or edibles, the effect is the same.
"It really doesn't matter. At the end of the day, impaired is impaired," Clinton said.
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