On behalf of Nicholas St-Pierre avocat / lawyer posted in drug charges on Wednesday, September 20, 2017.
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 evaluators (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.