Many Canadians driving after consuming cannabis, according to new StatsCan data

A troubling new survey from Statistics Canada says that more than a million Canadians have reported being the passenger in a vehicle driven by someone who has consumed cannabis within two hours of driving.

Statistics Canada, through its quarterly national cannabis survey, found nearly 5 per cent of Canadians (about 1.4 million people)reported being in a car driven by someone who had consumed cannabis within that two-hour timeframe.

Youth and young adults aged 15 to 24 were twice as likely as their eldersto ride in a car driven by a potentially impaired driver, the survey found.Most of those passengers identified themselves as current cannabis users.

In addition, the agency which collected cannabis data from mid-May to mid-June of 2018 found that one in seven cannabis users with a driver's licence said they'd driven a vehicle at least once within two hours of using the drug in the past three months. Men were nearly two times more likely than women to report this behaviour.

The new findings come as the Trudeau government's Cannabis Act is poised to become law on Oct. 17, paving the way for the legal sale of marijuana for recreational use across the country.

The legislation, Bill C-45, was pitched as a way to end the black market trade in the drug and make young people safer. A companion bill, C-46, passed Parliament in the spring and is already in effect; it introduced stiffer new penalties for driving while high.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the latest stats prove driving while high is already a widespread problem, and not one that materialized because of the government's legalization push. He said there is little evidence the number of drug-impaired driving incidents will increase after the government lifts the recreational cannabis prohibition.

"What is interesting is the degree to which this activity is already taking place. So those who think that this issue is going to come up only on Oct. 17 need to think again," Goodale told reporters.

"The problem exists right now. Driving under the influence of drugs has been an offence under the Criminal Code of Canada since 1925. The approaches that we have had over the years, of focusing on complete prohibition, have obviously not succeeded."

To that end, Goodale said the government has launcheda social and traditional media campaign warning young people of the dangers of drug-impaired driving, and of the stiff criminal penalties they could face for driving high.

"Your life can be ruined in a heartbeat if you continue withthis kind of irresponsible behaviour," Goodale said. "We are going to be conducting extensive public outreach, public communication campaigns, not just in the immediate period of the implementation of the new law but over the long term."

The vast majority of survey respondents 82 per cent told Statistics Canadathey probably wouldn't increase their consumption once recreational marijuana is legalized.

Bill C-46allowspolice to demand that a driver provide an "oral fluid sample"saliva if they suspect a driver is drug impaired. A positive reading could lead tofurther testing, including a blood test, to determine whether a criminal offence has been committed.

Three other drug-related offences have been created for drivers who consumedrugs within two hours before driving. A driver who isfound to have at least twonanograms, but less than five, of THC (the primarypsychoactive component in cannabis)per millilitreof blood could facea maximum fine of up to $1,000.

A driver who has a blood level of more than five nanogramsof THC, or has been drinking alcohol and smoking pot at the same time, will face afineand the possibility of jail time. In more serious cases, a drug-impaired driver could face up to 10 years if convicted.

Statistics Canada also found4.6 million people across the country close to 16 per cent of Canadians aged 15 and up reported using cannabis in the prior three-month period. Those numbers are similar to what the national cannabis survey reported last quarter.

The latest data were collected from mid-May to mid-June and includedata for the provinces and the territorial capitals.