Windsor police are telling people that, despite the legalization of cannabis, there are still consequences for driving while high.
Saturday afternoon around 2:30 p.m., patrol officers came across an SUV that had hit a parked vehicle on Pelissier Street between Elliott Street West and Erie Street West. Nobody was hurt, but when officers questioned the 17-year-old driver, they determined he was allegedly impaired by drug.
The three passengers in the vehicle walked away from the scene but the driver stayed. He was arrested and officers discovered over 135 grams of suspected cannabis in the SUV. The driver was then evaluated at police headquarters and police allege he was under the influence of marijuana.
The driver, from Tecumseh, is charged with driving a motor vehicle while being impaired by drug, and possession of more than five grams of dried cannabis in accordance with provisions of the Cannabis Act regarding youth. He is not being identified per the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
These charges have yet to be proven in court.
Police are using this incident to point out that even with recreational pot being legal, it is a serious offence to drive while under the influence of it. It is also a serious offence for someone under the age of 19 to be in possession of pot.
