Blog

In light of the fact that we are but twelve short weeks from cannabis legalization in Canada, I thought that I would start a short new blog series called The Twelve Weeks of DRE-mas. The purpose of this series is to outline the steps of the Drug Recognition Evaluation Program.

The Drug Recognition Evaluation Program is going to be very important post-legalization, as officers across Canada are training at an alarming rate to become qualified in this pseudo-scientific nonsense test for drug impairment. This first post will outline what the Drug Recognition Evaluation Program is, and how it will be used when Bill C-46 becomes law.

So, on the first week of DRE-mas, your DUI lawyer gave to you: a DRE program overview.

In this week’s edition of Weird and Wacky Wednesdays, we look at crying the courtroom, which is certainly unusual but not unprecedented. Then, we move on to a naked man just trying to get some exercise. And we finish off with a case involving a man suing his ex-wife’s lover after discovering the affair.

In alternate titles for this week’s post, I was thinking “Why are some men so shitty?” Because, well, read on to find out why some men are so shitty.

The Canadian Government announced this week that it has finally chosen the roadside saliva tester for drugs to be used after marijuana legalization this October. The chosen device is the Draeger DrugTest 5000.
 
This device is subject to numerous flaws. In an earlier blog post, I discussed some of the pitfalls generally with saliva testing, and none of those pitfalls are cured by this device. Now that we know what device is coming, we can identify which specific pitfalls apply to this device and in what way they apply.

On July 30, 2018 I was asked to take part in a panel discussion hosted by the BC Independent Cannabis Association. You can watch a video of the discussion, which was fascinating, at the above link.

In this week’s episode of Driving Law, I sit down with Tim Schewe, a retired police officer and founder of the DriveSmartBC Blog. We talk about the past, present, and future of impaired driving investigations in this country. It was a really interesting discussion from someone who engaged in policing and traffic work from a time before there were approved screening devices, to when they were introduced, and to his opinion on the future of random breath testing.

You can find the podcast on iTunes or SoundCloud!

Good news, drivers. A new defence has been established for the charge of using an electronic device while driving.
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Courts tend to be very stringent when it comes to enforcing this offence. A BC government PR campaign against distracted driving has not helped the situation. The courts have taken a very broad interpretation of what constitutes “use” of an electronic device.