The topic of marijuana has been making headlines across Canada as the nation prepares for legalization. In Ontario, regional police services are preparing for the roll-out by training more drug recognition evalutors (also known as DRE officers). While some drug charges will cease to exist with the new laws, police services are preparing for an increase in impaired driving that may come with the change.
DRE officers are trained to administer roadside tests to drivers who may be impaired. In the Waterloo region, drug charges were laid for 30 of the 36 people who failed the roadside tests this year. In prior years, the success of the tests had been much lower. The regional police service attributes the increase to better training for DRE officers, most of whom now have several years of experience.
The police service says that officers may need to spend more time in court as expert witnesses. They will also likely have to spend more time preparing blood warrants for collision investigations. Police who are trained as DRE officers are trained at both Ontario Police College and in Jacksonville, Florida.
The upcoming legalization of marijuana in Ontario will bring changes throughout the province. As more DREs are trained to investigate impaired driving drug charges, all other police will need to learn how to treat marijuana-related activity according to new provincial and federal laws. During this transition period, there will likely be many questions people have about drug charges across the province. A criminal defence lawyer can help clarify the rights of an accused individual and offer council in such cases.
Source: CBC News, "Police to train more drug recognition officers before marijuana legalized", Melanie Ferrier, Sept. 7, 2017
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