It took just less than 25 hours following the legalization of recreational marijuana use in Canada for Thompson RCMP to make their first arrest of a driver for being impaired by cannabis.
Police had set up a checkstop at the intersection of Cree Road and Deerwood Drive at 12:55 a.m. Oct. 18 when an SUV, which had been signalling to turn onto the road where the checkstop was, suddenly turned in the opposite direction. An officer stopped the vehicle and noticed the odour of marijuana and signs of impairment in the 20-year-old male driver, who admitted to having used cannabis.
The officer conducted a field sobriety test and determined that the driver was impaired. The driver was arrested for operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs and taken to a medical facility where a licensed technician took a blood sample.
The driver’s licence has been suspended. Police can not lay charges unit they receive the blood test results.
