If You're a Medical Cannabis Patient, You Basically Can’t Drive in Canada LOL

gb123

Well-Known Member
Medical marijuana has been legal in Canada for almost 20 years. But thanks to the country's new rules on drug-impaired driving, medical marijuana patients basically can't drive anywhere in Canada anymore. If they do, they risk getting into the same legal hassle that Michelle Gray of Halifax endured recently.

Gray, a 38-year-old woman using medical cannabis to treat symptoms of multiple sclerosis, was arrested on Tuesday for driving high. Her car was impounded, and her licence was temporarily revoked - even after it was determined that she was sober.

According to Gray, she consumed about “half a tiny joint” around 4pm that day, several hours before taking her son out to dinner in order to celebrate his 19th birthday. She also admits to having a single drink with dinner. On their way home, at roughly 10:45pm, they were pulled over at a roadblock set up by the RCMP.

After telling the officer that she’d had a drink, she submitted to a breathalyzer, which she passed. After the officer smelled marijuana in the car, they recommended that she move it to her trunk, as per provincial law. After doing so, she agreed to a roadside oral fluid test designed to detect high drivers – and was subsequently informed that she was over the limit, though the officer did not specify what her levels actually were.

Gray was then placed under arrest, and her car was impounded, forcing her son to get a ride home with a relative.

After being taken to the station, Gray was given two options – getting blood work done, or taking a more extensive sobriety test with a drug recognition expert. Gray chose the latter, and passed, despite her concerns that her symptoms of MS might’ve been misinterpreted as intoxication.

Still, despite having been found to be unimpaired, Gray lost her license for a week, having to pay $150 to have it reinstated and reprinted. She also had to pay an additional $250 to have her car returned, forcing her to miss four days of work in the meantime.

Her case reveals a major problem with the current laws concerning drug-impaired driving. According to federal law, having between two and five nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood within two hours of driving puts the user over the legal limit. This is despite the lack of a concrete link between THC levels in one’s system and impairment. Some people have a higher tolerance than others, so even though the THC level in their blood is high, they are not. Typically, those people have consumed cannabis over a long period of time. That seems to be the case for Gray - a cannabis consumer since she was a teenager, which is likely why she has a “very high tolerance,” to use her words. But she isn't the only one. Medical marijuana patients who use their medication daily are also likely to have elevated levels of THC in their blood that do not affect their ability to drive.

Still, according to RCMP Halifax, the provincial penalties remain in place for failing a roadside test, regardless of whether or not the perpetrator is deemed impaired. And that's a huge problem for every cannabis consumer but especially medical patients. Given the fact that THC can remain detectable in a person’s body for up to a month, patients like Gray could be arrested for impaired driving at any time, regardless of whether or not they are sober.
 

GrowRock

Well-Known Member
You have to love the irony of this statement from the Halifax rcmp “provincial penalties remain in place for failing a roadside test, regardless if the perpetrator is deemed to be impaired.” So basically it shows how our RCMP blindly follows the gobberments rules weather they are deemed just or not.

So basically the rcmp have the power to tell people they are impaired
 

VIANARCHRIS

Well-Known Member
I was just thinking about this earlier today. Why not be proactive and file a Charter challenge. This is clearly forcing the cannabis patient to choose between health and liberty, and it leaves us at the mercy of a beat cop - and we've been down this road before. We need a class action to have this law ruled unconstitutional and we might as well start now....
 

GrowRock

Well-Known Member
I was just thinking about this earlier today. Why not be proactive and file a Charter challenge. This is clearly forcing the cannabis patient to choose between health and liberty, and it leaves us at the mercy of a beat cop - and we've been down this road before. We need a class action to have this law ruled unconstitutional and we might as well start now....
:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:Great idea Chris
 

Skatch420

Active Member
In april my kid had something similar happen. Had valid acmpr script. Pulled over 4 smthing else. Was not "charged" but had car seized and licence suspended. A legal user who had waited several hrs b4 driving but as a new driver zero tolerance yet nothing happened except as mentioned.. she smelled weed and he lives in my house. Duh.. we grow so we smell... how does a pig's nose mean shit yet they are doing whatever they want while stealing property left and right.
 

Skatch420

Active Member
Who remember's Rick Reiner? @2003 I remember a couple more also walking & recently one in Saskatoon about a yr b4 the new rules...
 

The Hippy

Well-Known Member
In april my kid had something similar happen. Had valid acmpr script. Pulled over 4 smthing else. Was not "charged" but had car seized and licence suspended. A legal user who had waited several hrs b4 driving but as a new driver zero tolerance yet nothing happened except as mentioned.. she smelled weed and he lives in my house. Duh.. we grow so we smell... how does a pig's nose mean shit yet they are doing whatever they want while stealing property left and right.
Yup nothing really changed. They just figured they'd muscle out the BM and take over. Make dozens of new laws to enforce that thinking at the same time. I see it as no different than a gang fucking over legitimate Mom & Pop stores for payola. Like the mob would.
I feel many Canadians see trudy's farce of legalization for what it is....a joke. It a get rich scheme for the elite. It makes me sick!
 

VIANARCHRIS

Well-Known Member
It shouldn't matter what number is in your system if your NOT impaired. Hopefully some judge will see the flaw in gropers new nazi regime doctrine.
alcohol has a b.a.c. level that science has determined to be a point at which impairment can be detected - so the charge is "Driving with a bac of over .08" and not impaired driving. They don't need to prove impairment. With cannabis there is no such number, nor can one be found to fit most people equally. They've come up with an arbitrary number of 5 ng for no other reason than Colorado uses it and are attempting to apply it the same way. It won't work.. There is no scientific evidence to support a charge of impairment based on that number, so they need to PROVE impairment by different means. This law will be tossed eventually, but we need added protections for patients.
 

trichcrazy

Active Member
this really sucks the big one .so as a medical patient i consume alot of weed.
now it looks like legally i can't drive at all.i dont smoke or consume before i
drive but still would test positive i'm sure. i basically try to drive at low risk
of getting pulled over times of the day.i never drive late at night.so if the govt
has it's way i'd be a shut in. fxxx that.
 

Renfro

Well-Known Member
Thing is I could stop cannabis intake for a month and probably still have more than 5 nanograms per deciliter. lol

Same rules apply here in Colorado.

Problem with cannabis is it stays detectable LONG after the high is gone. Also different people have different tolerances.

Personally I drive safer and more considerate to others when I am a little buzzed.
 
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