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The Winnipeg Police Service, in partnership with Manitoba Public Insurance, has launched the Drug Impaired Driving Enforcement Project, an initiative aimed at reducing drug‑related impaired driving.
The project runs now through March 1, and will see increased traffic enforcement focusing on drivers who may be under the influence of cannabis or other drugs.
The campaign reinforces a simple message to motorists: don’t drive high.
While cannabis use is common, its effects on driving ability can be surprising. Ingested cannabis, such as edibles, can take up to four hours to reach peak effect and may impair a driver for as long as 12 hours. Inhaled cannabis can peak within 30 minutes. Police are stressing that impairment does not always match the time of consumption. Motorists are urged not to drive after using cannabis, including edibles.
Cannabis continues to be the second‑leading cause of impaired driving offences, a behaviour that can lead to tragic outcomes and jeopardize the safety of everyone on the roads, police say.
Over last year’s campaign, officers conducted 302 traffic stops, with 97 individuals testing positive for recent cannabis use. A total of 86 tickets were issued, including for unlawful storage of cannabis in a vehicle and consuming cannabis in a vehicle as a passenger.
Police note that impaired driving remains a year‑round concern and that all motorists share responsibility for keeping roads safe.
An awareness campaign will run alongside the enforcement effort, funded in part by Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, to reinforce the message, #DontDriveHigh.
