Sentenced for pot and driving

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Benoît Philie

Tuesday, 10 October 2017 22:01

UPDATE
Tuesday, 10 October 2017 22:01

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A He has lost his driving licence for one year after having been convicted of driving under the influence of cannabis, a scenario that could repeat itself, because the police are better equipped to detect the consumption of drugs at the wheel.

Nikola Sévigny, a 21-year-old was intercepted by police on the night of October 23, 2015 while he was sitting in the driver’s seat of a van parked on a street in Trois-Rivières with the engine running.

“In arriving at the driver’s door, the agent [has found] an odor of cannabis from inside the vehicle,” one can read in the documents of the court.

Traits tired

The police found that the accused was nervous, he had red eyes and had symptoms of capabilities are impaired by drugs, such as ” the heavy lids and the traits of tired “.

They have then been subjected to tests of co-ordination of movements on the spot before proceeding to his arrest and bring him to the station where he was evaluated by a drug recognition expert.

During the tests, ” the accused [was] idle “, “[lost] the balance “and was” nonchalant and indifferent “, suggesting a weakening of his ability to drive.

Mr. Sévigny has also had to provide a urine sample in which the presence of cannabis was detected.

The attention deficit

In front of the judge Jacques Lacoursière, the accused has pleaded to have misunderstood the directives of the police officers during the events co-ordination and evaluation because of his attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity. The explanation did not, however, convinced the magistrate.

“He [insisted] to say that he was in a state of driving the night of the events, but that after the arrest, he was in a state of panic “, says it in the judgment.

Mr. Sévigny has, however, admitted to having smoked “two pofs” of cannabis in the vehicle shortly before the police arrived.

Convinced by the evidence of the prosecution, the justice Lacoursière has finally condemned the He, the 2nd of October last, to a fine of $ 1000 and a driving prohibition for a period of one year.

Within one year of the legalization of cannabis in Canada, the concerns are many with regard to driving while impaired by drugs. The police, however, are better equipped to detect cannabis use and driving, and to prosecute offenders.

Like the alcooltest, the canadian police will soon be equipped with a device to detect the presence of multiple drugs, including cannabis, in the saliva. Prototypes have already been tested in the country this year.

Testimony eligible

In a judgment delivered in February, the supreme Court has also ruled that the testimony of a police officer who has received training as a drug recognition expert who has done the tests on a driver suspected is now automatically admissible during a trial.

The defence lawyers no longer challenge the evidence of the witness, which facilitates the prosecution.

— With the collaboration of Christopher Nardi