Since cannabis was legalized last October, Timmins Police are dealing with more cases of drivers being impaired by drugs — not just alcohol.
In one incident last week, a woman from Iroquois Falls who was involved in a collision in Timmins was charged. Communications coordinator Marc Depatie says fortunately, no one was injured.
“This person hasn’t been found guilty in a court of law and everyone’s presumed innocent until proven guilty,” he notes. “but nonetheless, this is becoming something that is a little too common. It’s a cause for concern for the general public, so it’s a cause for concern for your police service as well.”
Depatie says there’s often a false sense that a driver is less impaired after smoking weed, than if they had been drinking. And that can lead to tragedy.
“Yes, there has been an increase in this type of impairment-related occurrence. But your police service is aware of that trend and we’re dealing with it head-on.”