Later this year, the federal government is expected to introduce legislation to make the recreational use of marijuana legal.
Olds RCMP Cpl. Michael Black warns Olds and area residents not to assume that means they can use it and drive.
"I think there's going to be a lot of misunderstanding in terms of what people's sobriety is or can be when they may be smoking marijuana; as an example having a marijuana joint or bowl of marijuana for whatever reason and then driving, thinking that they're OK," Black told the Albertan.
"They may not be impaired, but a 24-hour suspension may come into play, depending on how their signs and symptoms are."
Black says RCMP have experts trained in how to spot people who have consumed marijuana and other drugs. If police suspect you've been consuming drugs, they can call in these experts, who will then test you to determine whether you're impaired by drugs of any kind.
"If I stop a guy - for instance, I'll stop you and I believe that you're under the influence or impaired by a drug, I'll arrest you, based on my training and knowledge just like it would be an impaired and then call control to get a drug recognition expert and they'll come and attend and do their expert testing," he says.
