Pubdate: Sun, 08 Nov 2015
Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
Copyright: 2015 Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact: http://www.edmontonsun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.edmontonsun.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135
Author: Catherine Griwkowsky
Page: 4

NEXT BATTLE

MADD targets drug-impairment

MADD Canada isn't waiting for marijuana to be legalized before coming
up with an education campaign to stop impaired driving.

Leila Moulder, president of the Edmonton and Area MADD chapter, said
the organization is working on more campaigns involving drug-impaired
driving in a five-year strategy. While MADD began as an organization
against drunk driving, they are broadening awareness to stop impaired
driving in many different forms.

"It can even be emotionally impaired. If you're highly stressed, or if
you haven't slept in two days and you're coming o of work, that's an
impairment as well," Moulder said.

Federally, section 253 of the Criminal Code of Canada deals with
impaired driving, which prohibits operation of a car, truck, ATV,
boat, aircraft or other vehicles while impaired by alcohol or drugs,
including prescription drugs.

Before launching campaigns, MADD is gathering research on the effects
of driving while high.

A 2010 survey commissioned for the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse
found, of the drivers who tested positive for drugs, 63.8% tested
positive for cannabis, or 4.5% of all the drivers tested.

On the campaign trail, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to
legalize marijuana, but gave no specifics on when the drug would be
regulated, taxed and sold.

Recreational and medical marijuana has been legalized in Alaska,
Colorado, Oregon and Washington, while other jurisdictions have
decriminalized it.

A Washington Traffic Safety Commission report dated October 2015
showed a doubling in the detection of marijuana use in driver
toxicology testing from 2010 to 2014.

The 2014 report found 84.3% of drivers who tested positive for
cannabinoids were positive for THC - the psycho-active chemical not
found in medicinal marijuana - up from 44.4% in 2010. Of the 75
drivers that were involved in fatal crashes who tested positive for
THC in 2014, 38 exceeded the limit of 5 nanograms per millilitre.

The number of THC-positive drivers in 2014 was higher than the
four-year average of 36 drivers, with 75 drivers testing positive,
while the opposite was true of alcohol-impaired driving.

In 2014, 51 drivers were found to have a blood alcohol concentration
of .08 and no other drugs in their system compared to a four-year
average of 98 drivers.

A 2012 Canadian Alcohol and Drug Use survey found 2.6 % of Canadians
admitted to driving within two hours of marijuana use at least once in
the past 12 months.
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MAP posted-by: Matt