All drugs – cannabis, hashish, speed, cocaine, ecstasy, mushrooms, etc. – can be detected. Drugs act on the brain and their effects are incompatible with driving. If you take drugs, don’t drive!
Just like with alcohol, driving while impaired by drugs is a criminal act.
With the techniques now available, Québec police officers have the necessary means to detect people driving under the influence of any drugs and place them under arrest.
Eye drops may reduce the redness in your eyes, but they won't fool a police officer who is trained to recognize drivers who have taken drugs of any type! You may show other signs of intoxication, even if you think that they have worn off.
If a police officer suspects that you have drugs in your system (cannabis or any other drug), you may be required to submit to physical coordination tests or take a saliva test. It will be possible to use saliva tests once they have been approved and become available. These tests are carried out on the side of the road.
Failing these tests is enough for a police officer to arrest you and bring you to the police station for further tests.
There are 3 physical coordination tests:
After taking drugs, these tests, which may appear easy, are difficult to pass.
If you fail the physical coordination tests or saliva test, you may be required to pass other tests administered by a police officer who is a drug recognition expert (evaluating officer) at the police station. This officer will examine:
You will also be required to provide a urine or blood sample.
The police officer may simply require you to provide a blood sample without having you undergo the other tests.
If the tests reveal that you are impaired by drugs (whether or not in combination with alcohol), or that you have a blood drug concentration that is equal to or above the concentration prescribed by federal regulation, the results will be sent to the Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales (DPCP). You may then be charged under the Criminal Code.
Combining drugs with alcohol multiplies the effects of each substance and the risk of causing a traffic accident.
They can change from one time to another or from one person to another. Sometimes, the person does not even realize his or her faculties are impaired.
Yet, depending on the type of drug, the symptoms can include:
You think you have a foolproof trick?
Last update: May 17, 2022