Don’t drive high, police warn

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This article was published 14/01/2025 (238 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

City police and Manitoba Public Insurance are mixing enforcement and education in their latest effort to show that cannabis and driving don’t go together.

The Winnipeg Police Service re-launched its drug-impaired driving enforcement initiative on Tuesday, which focuses on the dangers of edible cannabis products.

“Although alcohol impairment continues to be the leading cause of impaired driving offences, cannabis impairment ranks as the second-highest contributor,” said Patrol Sgt. Stephane Fontaine, impaired driving countermeasures co-ordinator for the WPS.

“As the stats indicate, drug-impaired drivers continue to pose serious risks on our roadways.”

The WPS said it made 243 traffic stops during last year’s enforcement project, done in partnership with MPI and MADD Canada, that launched in mid-January 2024.

Police gave oral fluid tests to 148 drivers, and 64 (43 per cent) tested positive for cannabis. Officers also handed out 36 tickets for matters such as unlawful storage of cannabis in a vehicle and passengers consuming cannabis in a vehicle.

The legal limit for cannabis in a person’s system is five nanograms. WPS roadside screening devices won’t record a positive test until a person’s THC levels hit 25 nanograms, five times the statutory limit.

“If you’re below 25, you’re passing, it’s a negative test,” Fontaine said.

Those who swab over can be subject to a number of consequences, including 24-hour roadside suspensions, tiered administration suspensions ranging from three to 60 days, licence suspensions and criminal charges.

Impaired driving can devastate victims and their families, said Tony Rinella, vice president of MADD Winnipeg.

A drunk driver took the life of his mother in 1968 when he was 10 years old.

Rinella was in the back seat behind his mother when an impaired driver, travelling more than 100 km/h on Portage Avenue, ran a red light and T-boned their vehicle as they were nearing home.

“The profound impact of losing my mother at such a young age changed my life and the lives of my family forever,” Rinella said. “The impact continues to impact us 57 years later.

“For me, it’s been a lifelong burden of wishing what it would be like had she survived.”

Rinella’s message was clear on Tuesday.

“If you plan on going out and decide to consume alcohol or drugs, please make sure you plan a safe ride home,” he said. “Such a simple decision can prevent a lifetime of grief and heartache.”

Police are finding that more fatal collisions involve cannabis, which is often mixed with alcohol, Fontaine said.

“Sometimes as an accompaniment, sometimes in and of itself or mixed with other drugs,” Fontaine said.

This year’s campaign focuses on educating motorists about the potential dangers of edible cannabis products such as gummies, oils and baked goods.

The sale of edibles has nearly doubled since cannabis was legalized in 2018, data from the Liquor, Gaming & Cannabis Authority of Manitoba show.

The full effects of ingested cannabis can peak up to four hours after consumption and might linger for up to 12 hours, while the peak effects of inhaled cannabis occur within 30 minutes.

“Those effects could very well be leading you into the next day,” Fontaine said. “That’s obviously concerning if the next day involves you driving anywhere at the next point.”

Fontaine said one of the issues they find with edibles, especially with new users who have experience with smoking, is that the high doesn’t kick in as immediately, leaving people believing they aren’t working and consuming more.

“So you take more, and you’re still waiting, so you take more,” Fontaine said.

Fontaine said one of the interesting things they found during last year’s campaign was the time of day many drivers were found to be impaired.

“Our highest positive testing timeframe was between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., an interesting stat, even though our numbers were small,” he said. “It’s a different time of day we’re capturing these drivers under the influence of cannabis.”

That will influence when officers concentrate their enforcement efforts this time around.

Funding for the enforcement-and-education initiative comes from MPI, the provincial government and a federal fund.

The campaign will continue through March.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca