Canada Drugged Driving Laws Showing Results

Drugged driving charges laid in Corner Brook
Source: September 2008 – The Telegram

Officers have undergone intensive training, to do a follow up blood, saliva  ( oral fluid ) or urine test, should the driver fail or refuse the initial test.

A 32-year-old man is facing one of the province’s first drugged driving charges.
Officers in Corner Brook arrested the man in the Main Street area of the west coast city overnight.

Drugged driving charges are relatively new in Canada, with officers given the authority to run certain roadside tests, which drivers could legally refuse in the past.   The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary has trained a large number of its officers to carry out the sobriety tests.

Under the old law, police were obliged to tell drivers suspected of being high that roadside tests weren’t mandatory.   But as of this summer, refusing the test will be considered a criminal offence.
Drivers convicted of drug-impaired driving now face a minimum $1,000 fine for a first offence and a month in jail for a second conviction.