Academics and officials say Canada should do more to raise awareness about new cannabis products and their tools to catch drug-impaired drivers

This story is part of The GrowthOp’s Road Trip series, which focuses on the intersection between the legalization of cannabis edibles and other products on Oct. 17, and driving while under the influence.

A new poll finds seven in 10 Canadians are concerned about how cannabis is impacting road safety and almost one in three knows someone who claims to drive better after using marijuana.

Abbott, a global health and research company, contracted Atomik Research to poll 1,002 Canadian adults in late June about cannabis and the roadways.

71 per cent of Canadians polled expressed concern about cannabis affecting their commute and 30 per cent say they’ve heard someone say, “I drive better when I’ve smoked marijuana.”

“You look at the numbers, it just shows they’re concerned about it, it’s a public safety problem,” Fred Delfino, Abbott’s senior law enforcement liaison, said in a phone interview.

“It reinforced what we assumed and heard.”

One third of Canadians surveyed added they know someone who drove shortly after using drugs.

“More must be done to educate cannabis consumers about the profound public safety implications to driving while high,” said Erin Holmes, vice president of criminal justice programs at Responsibility.org, referring to the Abbott poll.

The results come as cannabis edibles, topicals and extracts became legal in Canada, one year after the federal government legalized marijuana.

Public Safety Canada said it launched a new version of its “Don’t Drive High” campaign in April 2019, which features a webpage and a new video to persuade people not to get behind the wheel while under the influence.

The campaign coupled the clip above with older videos and animations that appeal to younger audiences, one of which gained almost five million views.

“There’s a lot going on around you when you drive. You need to be totally focussed (sic) so that if a split-second – and potentially life-saving – decision needs to be made, you’re ready for it,” read an excerpt from the webpage, misspelling “focused.”

“The campaign will continue to engage young Canadians and leverage partnerships with other levels of governments and organizations that are working toward the same goal to eliminate drug-impaired driving on Canadian roads,” read a statement from the government.

Far too many Canadians believe cannabis makes them a better driver. It doesn’t. #DontDriveHigh https://t.co/tLDblzWih6 pic.twitter.com/Si7X9o36PR — Public Safety Canada (@Safety_Canada) April 29, 2019

The Abbott poll found 57 per cent of Canadians believed the number of drugged-driving arrests are increasing — and they’re right.

In 2018, there were 4,423 cases of drug-impaired driving, a 25 per cent increase from 2017.

Statistics Canada says the numbers may be larger as drugs are harder to detect than alcohol and officers don’t specify the drug involved in the incident.

“Funding from Public Safety will also be used by provinces and territories to establish dedicated trainers/analysts who will develop standardized data collection and reporting that will be used to analyze trends, identify gaps and provide an accurate picture of drug-impaired driving across Canada,” read an e-mail from Cpl. Megan Apostoleris from the RCMP’s national headquarters in Ottawa.

• Email: bhristova@postmedia.com | Twitter: bobbyhristova

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