Ontario truck drivers to face zero tolerance approach to pot

by Truck News

TORONTO, Ont. – Commercial vehicle drivers in Ontario must have no blood drug content when operating their vehicles, according to changes to the province’s Highway Traffic Act.

Changes to the Act address the issues of impaired driving, distracted driving and vulnerable road user safety, and are effective July 1.

Starting July 1, drivers of commercial vehicles must have a blood alcohol content (BAC) of zero – which is measured at 0.02 – and equivalent blood drug content (BDC) as detected by an oral fluid screening device when driving a commercial vehicle. If a commercial driver has alcohol in their system (above 0.02 BAC), they will face serious penalties, including licence suspensions and administrative monetary penalties.

With the federal government’s intentions to legalize cannabis, zero tolerance drug sanctions will also be effective starting July 1. However, the zero tolerance drug sanctions will not be enforced until the Federal Minister of Justice approves and authorizes the use of an approved drug screening equipment, the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) points out.

Medial cannabis users may be exempted from zero tolerance sanctions if a police officer is satisfied they are legally authorized to use drugs for medical purposes. However, these drivers can still face penalties or criminal charges if a police officer determines their ability to drive has been impaired.

The OTA said it will request the incoming Minister of Transportation revisit the exemptions to the zero tolerance policy for those prescribed medical marijuana.

“OTA does not believe there should be any exemptions for cannabis containing THC (the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis) regardless of whether it’s for medical or recreational use,” the association said in a release.

More details can be found here.


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  • There is no real comment to do on this subject other that it is ridiculous and money driven dope selling.
    Funny yesterday still a crime to use this smoke and come october it is ok do not make sense.
    Getting young truck drivers sober ??? perhaps one percent and the rest would be at a no touch level.

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  • These political pawns are only interested in criminalization to increase their policing budget, their interest is showing with their lack of knowledge which is to the extreme, Impaired driving, joke, to bad their reading abilities are little or they would have studied the 20 or so studies done in the USA and in Canada that there is little to no difference in the ability to drive between a stoned or a sober driver, and some even suggest that because a stoned driver knows hes stoned, they will slow down and focus more on the road, making them a safer driver. Its also to bad that media doesn’t challenge the bullshit that politician and police on correct and informative information, and ask the hard questions to show the public how uninformed our politicians really are so that come time to elections we done elect stupidity and corruption. It Turns Out That Smoking Marijuana May Actually Make You A Safer Driver; http://www.businessinsider.com/it-turns-out-that-smoking-marijuana-may-actually-make-you-a-better-driver-2011-12

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  • If they had spent the past 90 years actually studying cannabis instead of treating it as the poison of society and speeding lies about it. They would probably know much more about it, and have a better understanding of how it actually affects a person’s abilities.
    What someone chooses to do in their home on a Saturday night with a legal substance should have nothing to do with how they are on a Monday.

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