The federal government is expecting a deluge of police requests for marijuana tests once cannabis is legalized and is concerned about whether Canada’s shrinking number of forensic labs will be able to handle the surge.
Legalization of the drug in the new year is likely to “increase dramatically” the demand for pot analysis of urine and blood samples from suspected impaired drivers, says a tender issued recently by Public Safety Canada.
One outside expert says it’s unclear if they can meet that demand, given the RCMP has shut down three of its six forensic testing centres since 2014.
Roadside checks and random screening of drivers for drugs will likely occur more often
The request for proposals (RFP) asks for contractors to study the capacity of Canada’s lab system and the potential for a “backlog of samples,” then advise on a new framework for analyzing bodily fluid samples.
“It should be expected that the number of samples requiring lab analysis will increase dramatically once cannabis is legalized, simply because the police will be reacting to the new regime with a similar approach as they do for driving under the influence of alcohol,” says the RFP. “Roadside checks and random screening of drivers for drugs will likely occur more often.”
In fact, law enforcement in Colorado reported more charges for driving under the influence of drugs, and more deaths related to “drugged drivers” after the state made marijuana legal, the document notes.
Washington has reported similar trends since implementing the same change.
The Trudeau government has promised to bring in a bill to make recreational use of the drug lawful by this spring.
Whether people actually start smoking more pot and then drive or police simply look for it more, additional testing will be needed, predicts Doug Beirness, a senior research associate at the Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse.
Meanwhile, the RCMP recently closed forensic labs in Halifax, Winnipeg and Regina, saving $3.5 million a year.
“We reduced our toxicology capacity immensely. What were you thinking?” Beirness said. “Now we’re going to increase the number of samples we’re getting. There’s the problem … This is just added.”
While the system for policing alcohol-impaired drivers is well worn — officer-administered breathalyser tests have long been accepted in court — identifying and prosecuting those influenced by other drugs is more complex.
“We’re talking about two completely different animals,” said Supt. Gord Jones of the Toronto police service, co-chair of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police traffic committee.
Specially trained “drug recognition experts” first determine whether someone suspected of impaired driving is under the influence of a narcotic.
If the answer is yes, a sample can be requested, then sent to the forensic lab for confirmation. Blood is better than urine, because it can indicate if drivers have the drug actively circulating in their systems, rather than just metabolites of it that may have been there for some time, said Beirness.
Police forces are now testing hand-held devices that analyze saliva, but it’s unclear whether courts will accept the results as evidence, he said.
The Centre of Forensic Science in Toronto, a provincial agency that serves many Ontario police forces, expects an “uptick” in testing demand and is considering what, if anything, it will need to meet that, said spokesman Brent Ross.
Jones said he hopes education efforts around the legalization initiative will dissuade people from smoking pot and driving.
That said, “the reality of the experience of our friends in the States is they have seen an increase, and there will be an impact on labs across the country.”
A report prepared recently for Public Safety Canada outlines 45 “metrics,” or possible changes that could occur as a result of legalization and that should be measured, now and after the law comes into effect. They range from the rate of grow-op fires to the impact on pregnancy, changes in real estate prices and school performance.
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