There's been a spike in the number of motorists charged with being impaired by drug in Sarnia.
The numbers have doubled according to city police.
Cst. Shawn Urban said by the end of November 2020 they laid 18 impaired by drug charges, compared to a total of nine in 2019.
He said the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns may have been contributing factors.
"I think that has something to do with it, I think the CERB benefit had something to do with it," said Urban. "It doesn't just show there's an impaired driving problem, there's an obvious opioid addiction problem out there. That's kind of my opinion given the state of what's happened this year. Honestly, unfortunately I see that number rising next year as well, just the way the trend is currently going."
Cst. Urban said the total number of impaired drivers, including impaired by alcohol, is down slightly compared to last year.
By the end of November 2020 there were 68 impaired drivers, down from 78 at the end of November 2019.
"Considering that with lockdowns and bars and restaurants closing at 11 p.m. and a lot less vehicle traffic, our impaired (cases) aren't down all that much," he said. "It's only down less than 10 per cent."
Consequences for impaired driving include vehicle impoundment, suspended licenses, fines and jail time.
