CALGARY—Major bus, taxi, and rideshare companies in Calgary have no plans to randomly test their drivers for cannabis impairment in anticipation of legalization, because they feel it isn’t warranted.

Alarming as this position may seem, it’s backed up by the realization that legalization won’t mean an increase in stoned drivers, according to Rebecca Haines-Saah, an assistant professor with the University of Calgary.

“I would never be one to endorse impaired driving, but I think there’s a great deal of panic about an increased number of high drivers on the road, and I haven’t seen compelling evidence towards that,” Haines-Saah said.

She pointed to a recent report by Statistics Canada which suggests more than a million Canadians have been in a car with a driver who’d used cannabis within the last two hours. It also noted around one in seven cannabis users with driver’s licences had admitted to driving within two hours of using cannabis within the last three months.

“This is already happening,” she said. In fact, she suggested people who start using cannabis after it is legalized are more likely to be cautious about impairment than those who have used regularly.

Two of Calgary’s major taxi companies said cab drivers driving drunk or high aren’t a concern for them, mainly because the consequences for doing so are immediate and final if they’re caught by their bosses.

Jeff Garland, general manager at Associated Cabs, said in his 37 years working for the company, he’s only heard of two cases where drivers were pulled over and charged with impaired driving. Both were fired. Prospective drivers can’t even have past charges on their record when they apply to work for the company.

“I think everyone is thinking about it, but we have a zero-tolerance policy for substances that impair your driving,” Garland said.

Layna Segall, media manager for Checker Transportation Group, said the cost of becoming a licensed taxi driver in Calgary is also a deterrent. Drivers must shell out hundreds of dollars for everything from training to a criminal record check, and would lose everything if they were found to be driving impaired.

“I just truly don’t see this being an issue,” Segall said.

The City of Calgary also said it has no plans to randomly test employees — including Calgary Transit drivers — for cannabis impairment.

“We already capture all of these existing issues under our substance use policy,” said Matt Zabloski, the city’s project lead for the legalization of cannabis.

The policy covers everything from cannabis to alcohol to Benadryl use while on the job, although Zabloski said the city has been rolling out reminders to its staff about the policy in advance of legalization.

Uber did not say whether it would implement random cannabis testing of its drivers when asked by StarMetro Calgary on Tuesday. But Uber Canada spokesperson Jean-Christophe de le Rue did say in an email to StarMetro Calgary that it’s working on education initiatives to educate the public “on the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol, cannabis or other drugs.”

Any Uber driver caught driving impaired is deactivated from the platform, de le Rue added.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Even if one of these companies did implement random on-the-job drug testing — as the Toronto Transit Commission did last year — Haines-Saah said cannabis users could be flagged by THC detectors long after any intoxicating effects have passed. Unlike alcohol, cannabis can remain in a person’s system for days, even weeks.

“Some people will have detectable THC — that doesn’t mean they’re impaired,” she said.

Read more about: