The smell of weed coming from a truck driving in front of an off-duty RCMP officer’s vehicle was strong enough that he opted to call it in for fellow officers to have a closer look.
The officer’s nose was tipped off while driving near Holyrood in Newfoundland and Labrador at 8:15 a.m. on Feb. 22. Upon seeing a truck towing a snowmobile trailer, he then smelled weed, reports the Holyrood detachment of the RCMP.
The RCMP officer reported the information to the Holyrood RCMP and within a few minutes, the on-duty officers carried out a traffic stop for the truck.
During the stop, the officers noticed a strong smell of cannabis emanating from inside the truck and could see open cannabis, which was later determined to belong to the truck’s passenger, the statement notes.
Suspecting that the driver was drug-impaired, the officers had him complete roadside sobriety testing, which showed further signs of impairment.
The vehicle driver, 33, was arrested for drug-impaired driving and transported to the RCMP detachment to complete a drug influence evaluation. A trained officer carries out that evaluation, using a 12-step test that involves both questions and psychophysical tests, including a blood or urine test to determine impairment.
The legal limit is two nanograms of THC per millilitre in whole blood, at which level a driver could be facing criminal charges and fines. If the level is greater than five nanograms of THC per millilitre of blood, this could result in a fine or imprisonment, according to the information from the provincial government.
The driver’s licence was suspended, while his truck was seized and impounded. There has not yet been any announcement regarding whether or not related charges have been laid.
Dankr.ca – Your Toronto Connection
