Toronto police facing backlash over charging driver with joint behind his ear
Toronto police are getting more backlash than they bargained for in response to a tweet from the force’s Traffic Services division, which busted a fully sober driver for having a joint tucked behind his ear while behind the wheel.
“Not a good look,” an officer wrote on X with a photo of the doobie, as Doug Ford would call it, in question. “Tucked behind the driver’s ear when stopped for speeding. The driver was sober and charged with speeding and cannabis, control act offences.”
While the cops noted that cannabis is only allowed in vehicles in very specific circumstances, residents are wondering if this is really the type of “crime” that authorities should be wasting their time on and questioning why the individual was charged despite being stone sober.
Definitely a good use of time and money to be enforcing and posting this garbage.
— SurlyCanadian (@CanadianSurly) September 28, 2023
Like with alcohol, drivers in Ontario can’t legally have open cannabis in their cars, even if they haven’t consumed any.
Per the provincial government’s website, it is against the law to transport the substance in any type of motorized vehicle if it is open and not in its original packaging and if it is readily available to anyone in the vehicle (i.e., not packed away in luggage). Both apply in this case.
Also, the driver was initially stopped for speeding, a crime that we can all agree they should be pulled over and ticketed for.
Sober and not using cannabis, yet the charges anyways. They’ll likely be dropped. Why waste the court’s time like this?!
— Adam ⚾️ (@GradyTripp00) September 28, 2023
Still, some online seem to feel that tacking on the additional charge for the small amount of weed was a petty move by the officer involved.
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