A poll commissioned by the Canadian Automobile Association found 63 per cent of Canadians concerned about stoned drivers in the post-legalization world, 26 per cent said not to worry about it.
Of course, the Liberals are only legalizing incidental possession and consumption. Driving high is not getting legalized. Hell, we’re not even sure yet if we can grow our own.
Cannabis has never been legal but that hasn’t stopped people from doing it. Police only notice when you’re driving because forced checkpoints offer them the opportunity to take in your scent.
Unlike drinking and driving, cannabis doesn’t impair driving the same way.
People with enough THC in their fat cells link a micro-dose of cannabis to drinking a cup of coffee.
And why not?
Would 63 per cent of the respondents of this poll be concerned if people were driving high on pills?
And how much booze is too much?
These things are decided, seemingly, by Ottawa and the provinces, but their actual implementation is undertaken by local actors.
Addiction counsellor Joey Cowan thinks legalization won’t be sufficient enough to stamp out the black market since people will seek strains with higher THC counts than what the government permits.
But he’s also worried “you’re not just getting marijuana anymore you’re getting marijuana plus whatever the dealer cut it with.”
Is lack of proper testing really a valid reason to enforce the federal criminal code?
Can’t actors engage in commerce without harming each other?
Even on the street, what incentive is there to lace your pot-only customers with a harder drug?
Assuming you sell more than cannabis. Perhaps you and friends buy large quantities together to save money. Perhaps you buy from the guy who buys from the grower.
Somewhere along the supply chain, if someone harms the end product, he or she will become known and get a bad reputation. No one will do business with them.
Assuming laced cannabis exists, and it is sold at retail vendors, would it be “even more dangerous” when someone was behind the wheel of a vehicle?
Depends on what it’s cut with, but I digress.
Back to regular cannabis — how much is too much to drive?
Depends on the strain, your tolerance, and where you are.
And the rules of the road, which are decided by local actors restrained only by higher modes of guns and badges.
A regular cannabis user won’t harm people on the road any more than a sober reckless driver.
Road risks exist, and the only remedy is private ownership.
Private road entrepreneurs would save lives by better managing drunk driving, excessive speeding, or — heaven forbid — stoned driving.
There would be a financial incentive to keep roads and highways safe.
As for cannabis, the 2002 Canadian Senate Report is clear: “Cannabis alone, particularly in low doses, has little effect on the skills involved in automobile driving. Cannabis leads to a more cautious style of driving.”
More cautious style? Low doses? Many connoisseurs microdose throughout the day. This sounds like a good thing.
The worst cannabis does? “[A] negative impact on decision time and trajectory,” but, “This in itself does not mean that drivers under the influence of cannabis represent a traffic safety risk”
Researchers say people are substituting cannabis for prescription pills and so there are fewer impaired drivers on the road.
Cannabis may actually reduce traffic accidents.
Cannabis makes our roads safer.