Drug-Impaired Driving Rates Doubled in Canada Since Cannabis Legalized: Federal Report

Traffic crawls during morning rush hour in Toronto on June 29, 2015. Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press

Drug-impaired driving rates have more than doubled since cannabis was legalized in Canada, according to a report from the Department of Justice.

Released in June 2022, the report noted that the average rate of drug-impaired driving offences increased by 105 percent from 2017 to 2020—from nine to 19 offences per 10,000 population.

However, the report noted legalization was accompanied by Bill C-46, An Act To Amend The Criminal Code, which allowed police to conduct random roadside drug testing, saying that may have contributed to the rise in charges.

“Due to the new legislation, police have additional means available to them to detect drug-impaired driving, which may in part explain this increase,” said the study, titled “Cannabis Crime Statistics in Canada, 2020,” as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

With the exception of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, these offence rates surged in all jurisdictions, the report said.

In British Columbia, the rate jumped 212 percent during the studied period. Yukon’s increase was 163 percent, while Prince Edward Island was up 142 percent. In Ontario and New Brunswick, rates increased by 133 percent and 130 percent, respectively.

Quebec saw an 88 percent rise while Newfoundland and Labrador had an 84 percent increase in drug-impaired driving rates. Saskatchewan (65 percent) and Nova Scotia (58 percent) experienced the same trend. Manitoba fared better by comparison to the rest at 48 percent, while Alberta had the lowest increase at 47 percent.

‘Major Contributor’

Cannabis became legal across the country on Oct. 17, 2018, making Canada just the second country in the world to legalize recreational use of the drug.

Ahead of legalization, a Statistics Canada official told the Senate legal affairs committee during its study of Bill C-46 in February 2018 that he could not predict the impact of legalization on impaired driving.

“I cannot predict,” testified Yvan Clermont, then-director of the agency’s Centre for Justice Statistics. “Depending on how legalization is sorted, in terms of campaigns and everything, I don’t know that. And things will differ from one jurisdiction to another.

Sen. Denise Batters asked, “Do you have any statistics where you’ve asked people whether they will use marijuana or whether they will use marijuana more often after it’s legalized?”

“No, we have not asked that,” replied Clermont.

Batters expressed concern over how an increase in drug-impaired driving cases might “cripple” the Canadian court system given the number of days it would take to get the offenders to trial.

“To me, one of your most important findings is the average impaired driving case involving alcohol takes a lengthy 114 days to get to trial, but the average drug-impaired driving case takes 245 days; more than twice as long,” she told Clermon, referring to his written submission.

“As you noted, drug-impaired drivers are less likely to be charged and convicted.”

A 2022 report by Public Safety Canada said marijuana had become a “major contributor” to fatal road accidents.

“Drug-impaired driving is a major contributor to fatal road crashes, and young people continue to be the largest group of drivers who die in crashes and test positive for drugs,” said the report, titled “Public Opinion Research On Drug Impaired Driving.”

A majority of cannabis users surveyed said they did not consider themselves unfit to drive after using the drug.

“Among those who have operated a vehicle while under the influence of cannabis, most said they did not recognize their behaviour as risky, with two in five (39%) reporting they did not feel impaired and one in five (23%) believing they could (still) drive carefully,” the report said.