Editorial
Alberta should conduct its own pot driving study
British Columbia has announced that it will be conducting a comprehensive study into whether drivers high on marijuana cause more motor vehicle crashes than sober drivers.
The study, the first of its kind in Canada, will see researchers collect blood samples from drivers injured in crashes over the next five years.
The blood, in turn, will be analyzed to see what concentration, if any, of THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) was in the person's blood.
“Our primary objective is to determine whether injured drivers who used cannabis before a motor vehicle accident are more likely to have caused the crash than those who did not,” Dr. Jeffrey Brubacher, who is leading the B.C. study, reportedly said.
“We anticipate that our data will provide a more accurate reflection of true THC levels at the time of crash.”
Since the blood being drawn for the study will not be entered into evidence, researchers are not obliged to get permission from the drivers to take the samples.
The $1 million study is being funded by the federal Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Although it is currently illegal to drive when under the influence of illegal drugs, such as marijuana, there are no THC level standards in place such as those for alcohol consumption (i.e. 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood).
A person can be charged with drug impaired driving, but the Crown must then prove the impairment itself by, for example, proving evidence of erratic or dangerous driving.
If marijuana use does in fact cause driving impairment, wouldn't it be much simpler and cheaper to have a set THC standard so everyone would know right off whether they are impaired or not?
The Alberta government and its stakeholder partners have done a good job over the past number of years informing motorists about the dangers of alcohol impaired driving – although sadly, many drivers choose to ignore those same warnings, killing and injuring people by the hundreds in the process.
Unfortunately, a similar information campaign regarding marijuana and driving has not been undertaken for the simple reason that reliable, concrete evidence about the correlation, if any, between marijuana use and impaired motoring in Alberta is not available.
The Stelmach government shouldn't wait for the B.C. study results to be released in 2016, but should instead launch its own study of crash victims here.
That way if the Alberta study finds there is a need for marijuana impaired driving to be addressed, legal changes and public awareness campaigns can be launched without delay.
