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The Regina Police Service has a new tool to catch cannabis-impaired drivers, and it already has helped take two drivers off the road.
Previously, when a driver was suspected of being impaired by cannabis, they had to be taken by a police officer to the station and tested on a Dräger, a large machine that stayed at police headquarters. Now, officers can call for another officer who’s trained on the Sotoxa and they’ll do the initial test right there.
“The roadside device is quick and simple, right at the side of the road and we can test drivers right there,” explained Cpl. Andree Sieber, who is one of only four Regina police officers currently trained on the device.
A Sotoxa roadside testing unit for cannabis. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)
Sieber was trained on the device Feb. 10, just a couple weeks after it arrived at the station. It since has been used twice and has come back both times with positive results.
“I believe as our officers are more comfortable and we train our officers, we’re going to use it more and more,” said Sieber.
The Sotoxa detects 25 nanograms of cannabis in a person’s saliva, which is 20 nanograms more than the legal limit.
A negative result doesn’t necessarily mean the person is out of the woods as more tests could be run if the officer believes the driver to be impaired, such as a urine sample or blood test. And a refusal to take the Sotoxa roadside test is treated the same as refusing a roadside test for alcohol, resulting in a refusal charge.
Sieber said there are many things officers look for when trying to determine if someone is impaired: How large their pupils are, whether their eyes are red, how they’re speaking, and whether they can hand over their driver’s licence easily.
Sieber said there’s also an element to it in the conversation they have.
“I will give you a divided question and ask you a couple of things at once,” she said. “Are you able to follow both of my instructions and can you answer my questions? So if I interrupt your train of thought, impaired people can’t follow those both at the same time.”
The machine needs to be kept at a temperature between 5 C and 35 C, which Sieber says is achieved by taking it with her in her vehicle and again when she leaves it.
The device was purchased with money from the province and was one of several handed out to police services across Saskatchewan.