Driving / THC: New laws in effect as of Dec 18 2018

Salutations

Canadian law makers have quietly ushered through some amendments that affect anyone who uses cannabis and drives.   I am extremely opposed to anyone who's being irresponsible behind the wheel, but these are some seriously stiff guidelines.

Along with changes to alcohol impairment sentences, new guidelines have been released to deal with criminal charges stemming from THC.  One of the major items-

Police no longer need to provide reasonable cause to order a roadside impairment test. 

If they've decided to pull you over, they have every right to subject you to a breathalyzer test, which will give a Per Se amount of blood to alcohol ratio, that they can use to determine impairment.  This is not the only type of test that can be used, most are less invasive- walk a line, follow my flashlight, stand on one foot and count to 20.... If you're drunk, there's a good chance they're gonna catch you with one of those.

But if you're high?  Or what if you smoked that morning, or last night before you went to sleep?  Are you still going to be too compromised to legally drive?

According to the new threshold limits- You better not have blazed in days.

With limits of 2.5-5 nanograms / ml of blood, you are officially under arrest, mandatory fine of 1000$, car impounded, license suspended.  Combine that with .50 Alcohol in your test and you've got yourself a hybrid charge! 3 offenses will get you mandatory jail time to boot.

THC is broken down into over 80 metabolites, and these are stored in your fatty cells, hair, blood and fingernails. 2.5ng can be hanging around in your bloodstream for a lot longer than the 2 hrs since you puffed that bowl and felt the need to get a slurpee. Now you're looking back at the reds and blues.

Germany-  The only country with harsher limits. Test below 1ng Active THC/ml-  Good to drive. Under 75ng- Just regular Users. 150ng is considered dependent behavior and either test result will cause your license to be permanently revoked and will trigger a forced medical / psychological evaluation.  (~!!!!~) But at least they need reasonable cause to order that test, right?

Most cops so far have been issuing tickets and warnings, worried about the extra backlog of challenges that are sure to arise from anyone refusing a roadside Drager Drugtest 5000 at 7am, on their way home from a night shift.

Do them and yourself a favor.  Keep any buds in the original container, in the trunk of your car when you're driving.  Don't let people blaze in your car- and if you're going to be all pasty mouthed, keep a gatorade or some gum on hand, that little dry mouth is enough reasonable cause for them to demand a swab test in some cases.  Visine is your friend.

But most importantly-  Please drive safely, use cannabis responsibly and know THE LAW in your area as it pertains to transporting cannabis in a vehicle, it changes province to province.