With marijuana legalization less than a month away, uncertainty remains around the effectiveness of the tool used to test for marijuana impaired driving.
Regina police will be using a drug testing device called the Drager DrugTest 5000. The machine was funded by Public Safety Canada and will be used to detect marijuana during roadside testing. Although it has been approved by the federal government, there are reports showing the machine gives inaccurate readings in other countries where it’s currently in use.
The Drager 5000 is expected to be in Regina before the legalization date of Oct. 17 — but Chief Evan Bray the police force will be leaning on its team of experts when it comes to detecting impaired driving.
“We’re much more equipped in terms of drug recognition experts which we have within the police service, so that ability for us to have a police officer who is trained to provide evidence of impairment,” Bray said. “Those officers can provide evidence of impairment and experts in court through testimony. We have those officers out there on Regina Police Service in various different shifts.”
Regina police will only have one drug testing machine and are still determining how it will be deployed. Bray says officers will be equipped to use the Drager 5000 by legalization next month.
