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Roadside Saliva Testing

by | Jul 31, 2023 | Drug Charges Videos, Impaired Driving/DUI Videos, Videos

In Canada, with the passage of Bill C-46 in December 2018, police officers are authorized to demand bodily fluid (saliva) testing for anyone who has operated a motor vehicle. If police officers have reasonable suspicion that a driver is impaired by drugs, they can demand a sample of saliva from the driver for testing purposes. The saliva sample is then tested for the presence of drugs, such as THC, methamphetamine, or cocaine. The Drager DrugTest 5000 has been approved by the Justice Minister as the first saliva screening roadside test for marijuana. The device can identify the presence of THC using a mouth swab. Police agencies in Canada have also tested two different oral fluid screening devices in a pilot project run earlier this year, in collaboration with Public Safety Canada. The results of this testing are expected to inform the decision on which device to use for roadside saliva testing.

Failing A Saliva Test

If a driver fails the saliva test, the officer will then arrest them for drug-impaired driving and make a demand for a drug evaluation test, which is a complicated series of tests conducted at the police station. These tests are performed by a drug recognition expert (DRE) and include drug, pulse, and balance tests, as well as following-fingers tasks. However, the accuracy of these tests can be challenged in court.

Conclusion

The goal of the new legislation is to detect more cases of drug-impaired driving in Canada. The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has called for funding for police training and drug-testing equipment, as well as a public awareness campaign to educate the public on the dangers of driving while high. It is important to note that the new laws do not apply to drivers who use cannabis for medicinal purposes, as long as they are not impaired while driving.

Free Consultation

If you are faced with an impaired driving charge, it’s important to contact an experienced criminal lawyer as soon as possible. Kruse Law Firm offers a fast and free consultation so you can better understand the charges brought against you.  Kruse Law Firm has four locations in Ontario, including Windsor, Kitchener, London, and Toronto. We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your personal information is kept confidential. Our team of experienced lawyers are knowledgeable and committed to providing clients with the best legal representation possible.

Video Transcription:

With the passage of Bill C-46 in December of 2018, Parliament brought in these new laws where the police can use a roadside screening test. What it is, it’s a saliva test essentially, and this detects whether there’s a drug in your system, for example, THC, methamphetamine, cocaine.In order to make the demand for these tests what has to happen is the police officer has to reasonably suspect that you have a drug in your system. That can be shown in many ways. Red eyes, tremors, you’re acting agitated, your speech pattern may not be good for example, and say you don’t have an odor of alcohol on your breath. So all of those things would clearly give them a reasonable suspicion.So Parliament’s declared this law. They are still testing various devices. They haven’t been declared by regulation yet but at some point they are going to roll these out and this is probably a good thing because there’s grounds, reasonable suspicion just like an alco test. It may be difficult to challenge this new law so this is not so controversial like other laws that I’ve talked about, for example, where they can just randomly demand an alco test device with no odor of alcohol on your breath. So it’ll be interesting when they roll these out and it seems like a useful tool that the police will have but there may be other ways and means of attacking this in court, for example, by suggesting that the officer didn’t have the reasonable suspicion. That’s often a defence and I suspect, I know that there will be other defences that arise in these particular cases as well.If a person fails that test once it’s rolled out what happens is the officer will then arrest them for drug impaired driving and make a demand for a drug evaluation test which is a very 12 step complicated series of tests and balance tests at the station. They take drug, pulse, balance tests, following fingers tasks, etcetera and by drug recognition experts which can be challenged too. In the right case those will be challenged and won as well. So there you have it those, once they roll it out the new screening tests. It will be interesting to see if we detect more impaired by drug cases in Canada and that of course is the new goal of this new legislation.

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