It’s usually teenagers who would be caught smoking marijuana near a school, but what about your mom?
On Tuesday, Saanich Police pulled over a woman for speeding in a school zone near Spectrum Community School and Marigold Elementary, only to find she had recently smoked a joint in celebration of her kids returning to the classroom.
“As the driver rolled down her window, the traffic sergeant could smell freshly smoked marijuana coming from within the car and he launched into an impaired driving investigation at that point,” said Saanich Police spokesperson A/Sgt. Jereme Leslie.
“She did admit to smoking a joint and she tried to excuse her behaviour by saying her and some other moms had a joint to celebrate the kids going back to school.”
At that point, Leslie said a drug recognition expert was called in to conduct a series of field sobriety tests. While most officers undertake some field sobriety training, Leslie said drug recognition experts undergo very specific training to detect impairment from a wide range of drugs, including crystal meth and other street drugs, prescription drugs and even cold medicine.
“From my understanding, she didn’t meet the threshold of being impaired by drug under the criminal code,” said Leslie.
Leslie noted speeding charges under the Motor Vehicle Act are being explored.
