Legal cannabis coincides with increase in impaired charges

Troy Shantz A citizen noticed a vehicle swerving back and forth as it headed north on Indian Road on Oct. 26 and called police.

Troy Shantz

A citizen noticed a vehicle swerving back and forth as it headed north on Indian Road on Oct. 26 and called police.

Officers located it a short distance away, and a 28-year-old driver gave a breath sample four times over the legal limit for alcohol.

Early the next morning, a vehicle climbed a curb on Exmouth and rammed a pole, cutting power to part of the city.

Again, officers tracked it down and charged a 26-year-old with driving while impaired.

Despite years of public education, emotional MADD campaigns and increasingly stiff financial penalties, impaired driving charges have soared in Sarnia this year.

City police charged 45 people with impaired offences over the first nine months of this year, said Const. John Sottosanti — a 55% increase over the same period in 2018.

The focus has shifted from drunk drivers to drivers who consume both alcohol and cannabis before getting behind the wheel.

Sarnia Police added two drug recognition experts (DRE) this year, officers trained to run suspect drivers through a 12-step test.

Impaired driving on city streets is “through the roof,” said Const. Shawn Urban, who until this year was the department’s only DRE.

“I don’t have any evidence to say it’s because of (cannabis) legalization, but ironically after legalization there was a big spike,” he said.

“I think the person that use to be able to drink 8, 9, 10 drinks and make it home, now might have 8, 9, 10 drinks and a couple puffs, and they can’t hold it together.”

Urban was only occasionally called on to examine suspects in the past, but this year has been requested dozens of times, he said.

And with the holiday season approaching he expects all three DRE officers to be even busier.

Nine city police officers are trained to conduct roadside sobriety tests. When a driver is deemed impaired they’re arrested and lose their licence for 90 days, Urban said.

What a DRE determines can result in a one-year suspension and $1,000 fine, Urban said. And drivers who refuse testing are still convicted and fined.

The testing starts with a breathalyzer and ends with a urine sample. “There’s a lot of looking at the eyes,” Urban said. “A majority of the time it’s fairly obvious.”

Different factors can determine impairment and it varies with the individual, he added.

“Everyone always asks me, ‘How much can I have?’ And my answer is always, if you plan on drinking or doing cannabis, have an alternate way to get home.”