Kamloops RCMP say legalization of cannabis hasn’t led to any real change in impaired driving cases.

Superintendent Syd Lecky says the local force does not have the Drager DrugTest 5000 or any other roadside tool to measure drug impairment, which is used by some RCMP detachments elsewhere.

“How we would deal with those? We do have access to drug recognition experts that we can tap into and access, but we really haven’t had a whole lot. Whenever you see our checkstops that we will sometimes have in partnership with our Southeast District traffic partners, the Central Interior Traffic Services, we’ll often have access to a drug recognition expert if need be.”

Lecky says there were 82 impaired driving cases in Kamloops to the end of November, and he says 2019 will see slightly more cases than the 83 in 2018 and 84 in 2017.

“That’s not a bad thing, because it does mean that we’re getting out there,” Lecky says. “Impaired drivers are out there, we just have to find them. It’s a sad commentary but it is the world that we live in.

“Last weekend alone we had six impaired drivers. It’s a really sad commentary because of all the publicity and the harm that it causes, we know that. But specific to drug impairment, we haven’t seen any real change.”