1) Cannabis edges out alcohol as the most common impairing substance: driver study

Courtesy of Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Hina Alam

A six-year analysis of more than 10,000 Canadian drivers involved in motor vehicle collisions suggests cannabis has edged out alcohol as the most common impairing substance detected through after-crash blood testing.

The National Drug Driving Study 2024, produced by the University of British Columbia, says researchers analyzed blood samples from drivers in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador between 2018 and 2023.

They found 54 per cent of these injured drivers tested positive for at least one impairing substance, and among that group 16.6 per cent had cannabis in their blood stream while 16 per cent had alcohol.

“Driving after cannabis use appears to be an emerging problem in Canada and may now be more common than driving after drinking alcohol,” the study says.

“However, given the very high crash risk associated with alcohol, and the fact that most ‘cannabis positive’ drivers had low THC (the active substance in cannabis) levels, it can be concluded that driving after drinking remains a bigger problem in Canada.”

The study also found that Atlantic Canada led the country in the proportion of injured drivers more likely to have used weed.

Of the 624 injured drivers from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador who were tested during the study period, 26 per cent of drivers tested positive for cannabis while 22 per cent tested positive for alcohol. Overall, 70 per cent tested positive for drugs or alcohol, which was also higher than the national average.

Lead author Dr. Jeff Brubacher, who is with the University of British Columbia’s department of emergency medicine, said the overall prevalence of impaired driving in Atlantic Canada was something that stood out for him.

“That was the single most striking thing,” he said. “I would say it’s a problem across the country, but it does seem to be worse in Atlantic Canada.”

Researchers in British Columbia have been studying cannabis in blood alcohol since 2012, and it’s clear that the number of drivers with weed in their system has gone up since legalization in 2018, he said.

“I would still say that good, old-fashioned alcohol is still probably the biggest problem of a single substance,” Brubacher said. “But a new problem is the combination of alcohol and cannabis, and that’s a bad combination.”

The study said cannabis intoxication causes attention deficits, slows reaction time and impairs tasks such as tracking ability — such as staying within a lane — or monitoring the speedometer. However, it says habitual cannabis users may develop tolerance to some of its effects.

“The effect of alcohol on driving and road safety is well-studied and understood,” the study says. “Unlike alcohol, it is often not possible to predict how driving will be affected at different drug-blood-alcohol concentrations.”

The target audience for this study, Brubacher said, includes emergency room physicians, public health officials, police and organizations that help spread awareness about safe driving.

“It’s just to warn people of the risks of driving while impaired, of the risks of combining alcohol and cannabis,” he said. “I’m really hoping we can continue to collect this kind of data, and I’m hoping that … police can use it to guide enforcement, and injury prevention people can use it for public education.”

2) Application for Barrie’s supervised consumption and treatment site withdrawn by health officials

Courtesy Barrie360.com

By Ian MacLennan

11 Innisfil Street in Barrie was chosen by the CMHA SCB for a safe consumption and treatment site.

The Canadian Mental Health Association Simcoe County Branch (CMHA SCB) has withdrawn its application to operate a safe consumption and treatment site (CTS) in Barrie

In a news release this week, CMHA SCB said the decision to withdraw its application for the site at 11 Innisfil Street was made after they had not received a response from the Ontario Ministry of Health, following several requests.

“Since autumn 2021, we made significant investments in this site because it is a crucial service for the community,” said Dr. Valerie Grdisa, CMHA Simcoe County CEO in the release. “As each month passed, more lives were and continue to be lost in Barrie and Simcoe County to the opioid crisis.”

There were 16 suspected drug-related deaths in Simcoe Muskoka last month, according to numbers provided by CMHA SCB.

“On average, there are 25 suspected overdose emergency department visits in the region every week. In 2023, tragically 53 people lost their lives in Barrie to a suspected opioid-related poisoning. Thus far in 2024, up to June 11, 2024, 26 people lost their lives to a suspected drug-related death in Barrie, and the immediate surrounding area.”

The federal government approved the CTS application from CMHA SCB in 2022.

There are 17 provincial CTS’s in Ontario.

Last October, Ontario paused approving new CTS’s while a review of all sites was underway.

The provincial launched a “critical incident review” last summer after a 44-year-old mother of two was killed by a stray bullet near a SCS in Toronto following an altercation between three men. Police have laid charges against several people in connection with the death of Karolina Huebner-Makurat.

“It continues to be clear from research on CTS sites in Ontario and elsewhere that they remain a key service to help prevent serious harms to individuals who use drugs, and increase uptake of addiction treatment and other health and social services,” said Dr. Lisa Simon, associate medical officer at the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit. “They also serve the broader community by improving public order and safety through the presence of discarded drug paraphernalia and public drug use.”

Despite the application being withdrawn, CMHA SCB said it remains committed to supporting people who use drugs through a range of services.

Christine Nayler, founder of Ryan’s Hope in Barrie, says news of the decision to withdraw the application is devastating.

“Total shock and heartbreak,” Nayler told Barrie 360. “It’s been six years of advocacy by a lot of people in our community.”

Ryan’s Hope is a charitable organization that advocates for and supports people who are experiencing homelessness and living with mental illness and substance issues.

She says the Ontario government is at fault for the application being withdrawn and Nayler goes as far as suggesting it will have “blood on their hands” because lives are going to be lost as a result of the decision to withdraw the application.

Nayler says she lost her son to toxic drug poisoning in 2020 when he turned to street drugs to medicate his bipolar disorder because pharmaceutical medications didn’t work for him.