VIANARCHRIS
Well-Known Member
The early numbers are in and the post-recreational cannabis legalization landscape is nothing if not underwhelming, if police statistics are anything to go by.
While it has only been a month, statistics from the RCMP and Calgary Police Service show that the number of cannabis-related violations — especially driving charges — are almost negligible.
The data does come with the caveat that the number of people charged could increase as investigations continue and a month of data is hardly evidence of long-term trends.
By the numbers
Between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31 Alberta RCMP laid 2,788 charges for impaired operation by alcohol and 124 charges for impaired operation by a drug.
Interestingly though, in the two weeks before legalization, K Division Mounties laid 144 charges for drunk driving and four for drug-impaired driving. All four charged were men. The data provided does not at this stage identify what drug is involved as the intoxicant. Eleven people refused to blow.
Compared to the same period the previous year, 142 tickets were issued for drunk driving and no tickets for drug-impaired driving. In 2016 those numbers were 150 for drunk driving and five for drug-impaired driving.
In the two weeks after legalization, Mounties issued 109 tickets for drunk driving and four for drug-impaired driving. In the previous year, 143 tickets were issued for drunk driving and just one for drug-impaired driving. In 2016 those numbers were 168 and eight.
Information presented at the most recent Calgary Police Commission on Tuesday showed that 13 nights of impaired driving checkstops at 21 locations across the city between Oct. 17 and Nov. 15 resulted in four drug-related 24-hour suspensions, including two that were positively identified as cannabis.
Seven nights of checkstops at 12 locations between Sept. 15 and Oct. 16 resulted in six drug-related 24-hour suspensions. Of those just two were positively identified as cannabis while one was identified as meth.
National averages
Drug-impaired driving in the province is well above the national average but lower than most other provinces.
According to Statistics Canada, the rate of drug-impaired driving sat at 13.46 per 100,000 people last year. That number is up from 11.38 the previous year and 11.13 in 2015.
The data includes all drugs and does not single out cannabis as the primary intoxicant.
‘There has been impact already’
On Thursday, Edmonton police presented data to city council as part of its budget presentation that showed an uptick in the number of cannabis-impaired driving investigations.
In 2016, there was one driver confirmed to have been impaired by THC and in 2017, there were 11. In 2018, there have been 34 suspected cases of driver impairment by THC, five of which have been confirmed to be cannabis.
Edmonton Police Service Deputy Chief Al Murphy said in the past six weeks, police have seen a serious injury collision where THC impairment is suspected.
“I don’t think anybody wants to overreact, but at the same time we want to make the public understand there has been impact already,” said Murphy.
He acknowledged that the rise could be in part that more people are driving on cannabis, but it could also be related to increased police efforts to detect cannabis use on the road.
