Feds approve roadside pot test, but not all forces will use it

VANCOUVER — Some Canadian police forces are hesitant to use a federally approved roadside marijuana test, raising questions about the Liberal government’s decision to give the devices the green light.

Vancouver’s police department is among those that won’t use the Drager DrugTest 5000 when pot is legalized because it says the device doesn’t work in sub-zero temperatures, is bulky and takes too long to produce a sample.

“We’re just not comfortable moving forward with this machine and we’re looking at other options,” said Sgt. Jason Robillard.

Police in Delta, B.C., say their officers won’t use the device this year but the department hasn’t made a decision about 2019, while Edmonton police and B.C.’s provincial RCMP say no decisions have been made yet.

National RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Marie Damian said the force will have a limited rollout of the device in consultation with provincial and municipal partners. Standardized field sobriety tests and drug recognition experts will continue to be the primary enforcement tools, she said.

The RCMP has taken the lead on training Canadian police officers on the devices and has ordered 20 units for that purpose.

Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould defended the approval of the device in the Senate on Tuesday. The Canadian Society of Forensic Science examined the machine and the public had an opportunity to give feedback, she said.

“It is not the only tool that law enforcement officers have. It’s an additional tool,” she said. “There is a potential that in the future I will certify additional devices.”

For its part, Halifax police said the force is not panicking about needing to use this screening device, noting the availability of other existing policing tools. There are expected to be more instruments approved in the future, added Const. John MacLeod.

Ottawa police are also holding off on using the Drager test.

“It is not no forever, it is just no for now,” said Const. Amy Gagnon. “The one big concern is we have such a fluctuation in whether and the instrument specifications for temperature would be ... an issue for us.”

Rob Clark, managing director of Drager Canada, disputed criticisms of the device.It operates best between temperatures of 4 C and 40 C. But the main part of the machine — which does the analysis — remains in the police vehicle where it’s protected from the cold, he said.

Kyla Lee, a criminal defence lawyer in Vancouver, said she intends to file a constitutional challenge of the devices as soon as police use one on a driver who wants to challenge it.

She bought a Drager DrugTest 5000 and tried it on herself. She said it took 2 1/2 minutes to collect a saliva sample and eight to 10 minutes to get a result. Canadians have a legal right to a lawyer immediately upon arrest or detention.

But during roadside testing that right is suspended as long as testing is done immediately, she said.

“There have been tons of cases at all levels of court that have found delays of even five minutes in doing roadside sobriety testing to be offensive to charter standards,” she said.

Lee added the device produces “very high” rates of false positives.