New Westminster police won’t be using a roadside device to detect the presence of cannabis once it becomes legal later this month.
Cannabis will be legal across the country as of Oct. 17, and with that comes a number of challenges for law enforcement, including how to spot and prosecute impaired drivers.
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Last week, a new roadside device called the Dräger DrugTest 5000 was approved by federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould for use by police departments in their fight against impaired driving. The Dräger is a portable device that can detect the presence of THC and cocaine in oral fluid samples, according to a press release from the ministry.
The Dräger DrugTest 5000 is now available to police departments across the country, but the New Westminster Police Department told the Record it will not be using the device at this time.
Instead, the department says it will rely on specially trained officers to conduct roadside sobriety tests.
“We do have a number of officers trained in standard field sobriety testing and others who are drug recognition experts. They are specially trained to detect drug impairment, and we continue to target impaired drivers,” New Westminster Sgt. Jeff Scott wrote in an email to the Record.
According to Bill C-46, which officially introduced changes to Canada’s Criminal Code in June, drivers who are found to have between two and five nanograms of THC per millilitre of blood in their system could face a summary conviction along with a fine of a maximum of $1,000. People caught with more than five ng of THC per millilitre of blood could face up to 120 days in prison depending on the number of previous offences and whether any other substances, including alcohol, were detected.
As legalization approaches, the New Westminster Police Department is reminding drivers of the dangers of impaired driving.
“Impaired driving, whether it is alcohol or marijuana or other drugs, affects everyone – don’t drink and drive, don’t drive high,” Scott said.
