SIDES TAKE POT SHOTS

Decriminalization Could Lead To High Drivers, Safety Group
Warns

What Was A "Pipe Dream" For Many Might Soon Become A Reality. A House
Of Commons Committee Has Recommended Decriminalizing The Possession Of
Small Amounts Of Marijuana. This Week, Reporter Tobi Cohen Explores
Both Sides Of The Issue.
~~~~~
Con: Increased Impairment On Roads

More accidents on roads and increased work for law enforcement
officials are some of the fears of opponents of marijuana
decriminalization.

With no mechanism in place to determine whether someone is too high to
drive, Raynald Marchand of the Canada Safety Council fears
decriminalization will prompt partyers to toke and drive as a way to
have fun and get where they need to go while evading potential legal
troubles.

"We know the active ingredient does have an impact on driving so where
our concern lies is if this is being decriminalized, then are drivers
going to favour this as a way to party?" he said.

Harder To Detect

Marchand is particularly concerned about new drivers who are bound by
a zero alcohol-tolerance policy.

A Quebec study, he said, found marijuana was to blame in 10% of cases
of impairment in young people.

Where alcohol impairment can be easily detected through a breathalyzer
test, THC -- the active ingredient in pot -- is most easily found
through blood or urine tests.

The problem with these tests, Marchand said, is that THC remains in
the body for long periods. While a test could show a person has smoked
marijuana, it won't say whether a person is currently impaired by the
drug.

"If it's legal, then it's normal to detect it in the blood of a
person, so how do you detect impairment?" he asked.

If the government decriminalizes marijuana, Marchand believes it must
also make a decision on whether driving while impaired by marijuana
should remain a criminal offence.

Cop Concerns

While Marchand believes it should, until an adequate enforcement
mechanism is in place, he thinks an aggressive education campaign is
in order to ensure people understand that driving while under the
influence of marijuana is just as bad as drinking and driving.

For Staff Sgt. Marc Pineault of the Ottawa Police drug squad,
decriminalization is likely to undermine policing efforts.

"Decriminalization, I think, is probably going to provide some people
with the mindset that it's sort of okay to smoke up," said Pineault,
who is working with the RCMP to combat illegal grow operations.

"I think demand will go higher, and if demand goes higher, the supply
goes higher. If the supply goes higher, that means the grow operations
will be a problem still."

Decriminalization, he added, is unlikely to alleviate the burden on
law enforcement officials since there is a lot of paperwork and cost
involved in ticketing.