cannabisnews.com: Minister Vows To Smoke Out Stoned Drivers





Minister Vows To Smoke Out Stoned Drivers
Posted by CN Staff on May 29, 2003 at 08:14:39 PT
By Kim Lunman
Source: Globe and Mail 
Ottawa -- The federal government wants to develop a test to determine if motorists are smoking marijuana while behind the wheel, Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said yesterday.Mr. Cauchon, under fire for introducing a new bill earlier this week to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, is trying to reassure Canadians that driving while stoned is still considered a serious crime.
"It is an offence based on the Criminal Code. At this point in time we are working with police forces from across Canada in order to develop a piece of equipment to measure that, and to make sure that the court will accept the new test. As well, I am working in co-operation with my colleagues and I intend to come forward with some amendments to the legislation pretty soon."Under the government's new Cannabis Reform Bill, possession of less than 15 grams of marijuana would still be illegal but would net fines issued like traffic tickets, ranging in penalties from $100 to $400 depending on aggravating circumstances such as driving. Offenders under 18 years of age would be charged $100 while adults would be charged $150 for straight possession."Canadians know that the question of drug-impaired driving in Canada is indeed a serious crime," Mr. Cauchon said.While driving while impaired by a drug, including prescription pills, is an offence under the Criminal Code, it is more difficult to prove in court than drunk driving. Blood tests for those suspected of smoking pot while driving are not mandatory."There's not a valid test in force," Mr. Cauchon said. There have been cannabis tests for drivers that have been accepted in B.C. courts, he said. The testing relied on blood testing and "physical behaviour" of the drivers, he added.The government's new bill, which would increase jail terms to 14 years for marijuana producers, has irked police, opposition critics and some Liberal backbenchers, who are worried it sends the wrong message to young people."I hope the legislation introduced yesterday by the Minister of Justice will not encourage marijuana users to toke and drive," Liberal MP Joe Fontana told the House of Commons yesterday.Liberal MP Dan McTeague said Mr. Cauchon must call for mandatory blood sampling for those suspected of cannabis-impaired driving.Meanwhile, Alberta Premier Ralph Klein also questioned the bill's logic yesterday, calling it "ludicrous.""A 12-year-old can't have a cigarette, he can't have booze. But can a 12-year-old have a marijuana cigarette and be subject to even a lesser fine than an adult? I think that that situation would be absolutely ludicrous, so we have some very serious concerns . . . ."We have some concerns about this law particularly as it affects young people, because marijuana is a mind-altering drug," he said. "I can attest to that, it altered my mind. I'll tell you I got so damn paranoid I wouldn't take it any more." Note: Government must develop test to catch drug-impaired motorists, Cauchon says.With a report from Jill MahoneySource: Globe and Mail (Canada)Author: Kim LunmanPublished: Thursday, May 29, 2003 - Page A7 Copyright: 2003 The Globe and Mail CompanyContact: letters globeandmail.caWebsite: http://www.globeandmail.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmCauchon Vows Action on Drug-Impaired Drivinghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16432.shtmlPot Bill Will Allow for Driver Testing: Cauchon http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16424.shtmlCops Now Have a Leg Up On Tokershttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16105.shtml
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on May 29, 2003 at 22:52:14 PT
Lehder
I understood you meant to show a comparison to how it happens these days at checkpoints for alcohol. I didn't think you approved of them but just used it to show how we could understand it. I hope this makes sense.What has happened to a policeman using his senses to see if someone is a risk? Why can't they think anymore? Back when I was young a policman pulled my mom over and I was in the car. She had too much to drink and was weaving. I remember the policman saying Mam you seem like you've had a little too much to drink and I'm taking you home and sending your husband to pick up your daughter. He told me my father would be there soon and to sit in the car and everything was going to be fine. I did what he said. My father picked me up and that was the end of that. I'm sure the policman lectured her while driving her home. This wasn't in a big city area but rural. How have we drifted so far from this way of thinking?
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Comment #9 posted by Lehder on May 29, 2003 at 22:24:20 PT
FoM
Thanks for your comment, FoM. I wasn't so sure that I had this quite right, as I'm opposed to DWI roadblocks - I do not agree with cops that people should be stopped and required to prove their innocence.But when everyone else is peacefully driving at 30 mph, it will sure be easy to spot the drunks.
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on May 29, 2003 at 19:41:54 PT
Lehder
You're right. Legalization clears up all the issues. I agree.Check out this new feature from Google. It seems cool and thought I'd post it.http://labs1.google.com/cgi-bin/gviewer.cgi?q=cannabisnews&btnG=Google+Search&delay=0&start=0
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Comment #7 posted by Lehder on May 29, 2003 at 19:19:47 PT
simple
>>The federal government wants to develop a test to determine if
   motorists are smoking marijuana while behind the wheel, Justice Minister
   Martin Cauchon said yesterday.Legalize, and then ask them. That's exactly what's done at the DWI check points: "Had any alcohol this evening, Sir?" Ain't it true - legalization really makes so many difficult things so simple.
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on May 29, 2003 at 19:10:28 PT
afterburner
Glad you understand what I mean about diseases and needle exposure. This law is so bizarre I don't understand how they think it will work. Half fixing something isn't fixing it at all in my opinion.
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Comment #5 posted by afterburner on May 29, 2003 at 18:54:50 PT:
Die, Re-crim, Die.
I agree, FoM. With AIDS, hepatitus, and other blood-based diseases, this proposal is just a vampire slow-death. Then, if you refuse to take the test, you will be guilty until proven innocent. All for a test that does not prove impairment as Dr. Russo so rightly pointed out. This bill is worse than the War on Some Plants; it is a sell-out to the US Drug-Meisters; it will do much more harm than good.R.I.P., Re-crim.Unless the liberals take a crash course in cannabis culture and medical cannabis, and stop pandering to reactionary lobbyists, this Jeckl and Hyde monstrosity will severely damage Canada. It seems to be a social experiment designed to take the War on Some Plants to new depths of depravity. Or is it a clever ruse to force the Canadian Supreme Court to free us from the madness."They've got the guns but we've got the numbers gonna win yeah we're taking over"---Jim Morrisonego transcendence follows ego destruction, when we reach critical mass and solve the problem.
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Comment #4 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on May 29, 2003 at 17:16:36 PT
LTE
Sirs,  All this hyperbole about marijuana-impaired drivers leads me to believe that Martin Cauchon has not read the report issued last September by the Canadian Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs. On page 19, the senators say that "cannabis alone, particularly in low doses, has little effect on the skills involved in automobile driving." Their main reccomendation is for people who also include alcohol in the mixture; in this scenario, they reccomend lowering the blood-alcohol limit from .1% to .04%. If alcohol on its own causes more impairment than cannabis on its own, why is cannabis the illegal one?
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on May 29, 2003 at 16:22:37 PT
News Article from Snipped Source
I cannot handle the thought with diseases as rampant as they are anyone sticking a needle in my vein to check for marijuana. The more times a person exposes his blood stream to a needle the more chances there are of getting something serious like Hep C or an other disease. I think I'm right about this.The 'Potalyser': Catching People Who Toke and DriveOttawa determined to come up with a legally viable test
 Janice Tibbetts , CanWest News Service Thursday, May 29, 2003OTTAWA - Justice Minister Martin Cauchon says he is working with police forces across Canada to develop a reliable test to detect drug-impaired driving that he hopes to "fast-track" into existence in the next few months.The test would be accompanied by changes to the Criminal Code "pretty soon" that would enable police to legally carry out the examinations, he said.Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/story.asp?id=F47F1125-B545-4189-9925-D76432601B8C
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Comment #2 posted by afterburner on May 29, 2003 at 15:18:56 PT:
Blood Tests - 
Another good reason for this re-crim bill to go up in smoke or down in flames.Better the present de facto decrim of the unconstitutional cannabis possession law, than the de jure crazy-quilt of the new re-crim cannabis law. Rise above the fear and anger. Envision the future. "Live your dreams, to find the truth." -Black Oak Arkansasego transcendence follows ego destruction, once we reach critical mass and solve the problem.
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Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo MD on May 29, 2003 at 09:33:55 PT:
Stick 'em?????
"Liberal MP Dan McTeague said Mr. Cauchon must call for mandatory blood sampling for those suspected of cannabis-impaired driving."And what for, my medically-unaware legislative friend? Levels of serum cannabinoids have no relationship to the degree of "high" or impairment, PERIOD. It's what's in the brain that counts, and there is no current test for that.I am repeating myself, but impaired is impaired. If someone is driving too fast, or too slow, or too erratically, stop them and perform a field sobriety test. If they flunk, investigate with appropriate lab tests. Otherwise, send them on their merry way.
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