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In the realm of uncertainty surrounding cannabis legalization, there is a lot of misinformation and premature legal analysis out there about when a person can and cannot smoke or possess cannabis. From my perspective as a lawyer who frequently deals with driving cases of all types, the assessment of whether or not a person can smoke or vape cannabis products in a vehicle is more complex than it may be made out in the media.

Recent articles, including on the Huffington Post, have suggested that it is illegal to consume cannabis in a vehicle, even if it is parked and there is no present intention to set the vehicle in motion. But based on my read of the Cannabis Control and Licensing Act in British Columbia, this may be an important misinterpretation.

And here’s why. Buckle up, this is getting technical and legal. But it is information cannabis users need to know.

Receiving a Notice of Intent to Prohibit can be a stressful experience. But these letters often take people by surprise. Often, that should not be the case. However, it appears that the Notice of Intent to Prohibit system at ICBC is fundamentally flawed, and therefore incapable of being administered in the proper way.

There is some serious oversight in this program that is missing, and some significant concerns about the manner in which these reviews take place that need to be addressed by ICBC and the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles.

This week on Weird and Wacky Wednesdays, we finally have a reason to think about why Canada’s bestiality laws may be a problem that solves itself. Then, we look into the port-a-potty pilfering that saw over 100 public toilets disappeared. And finally, we get to revisit cannibalism. Because that’s always fun.

So grab your barf-bags, and click on to read this week’s roundup of three weird and wacky legal cases from around the world.

Since there have been several cases now of people ticketed for having cannabis in a vehicle, and since I have now received several inquiries from clients charged with these provincial offences, I thought it would be prudent to write a short blog post outlining your right to transport cannabis in your vehicle.

Much ado has been made lately of a handful of cannabis-impaired driving cases in the media. The majority of these cases do not even have blood or urine test results to confirm the officer’s opinion that the drivers were impaired by cannabis. Some cases involve only violation tickets for having cannabis in a vehicle, or 24 hour prohibitions for drugs.

Despite the fanfare and attention, the reality is this: the battle for sensible cannabis-impaired driving laws will not be won in a dispute of a 24 Hour Prohibition for drugs.

And the police know that, which is why many police forces are electing to use these provisions to address these concerns.

And here’s why.

Happy Halloween, everyone. I’m sure lots of you will be driving to the store to pick up a last minute costume or filling up your trunk with candy. Whatever it is you’re doing, I don’t mean to spoil your fun, but the government just announced a policy will be coming into effect that is certainly more trick than treat. In fact, it’s the stuff of nightmares. ​

In honour of Weird and Wacky Wednesdays coinciding with Halloween, this week we look at the spookiest of Weird and Wacky Wednesdays legal cases: creepy clowns. You would not believe how many creepy clown cases there are in the legal world. This is but a small sampling of three of them to delight and horror you on this special day.

On this week’s episode of Driving Law, Paul Doroshenko and I continue our discussion of what is changing in Canadian criminal law related to driving, this time outlining some of our bigger concerns with the alcohol-related changes to the Criminal Code due to take effect in December, 2018.

You can listen online on SoundCloud, PlayerFM, or subscribe on iTunes!