With the July 1 deadline for legalizing marijuana in Canada less than seven month away, the federal government is launching an ad campaign to dissuade young people from driving while high.
The first in a series of video ads geared towards an audience of young adults will launch Dec. 18 and run on television and social media, and in movie theatres the country, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale announced Tuesday.
Public Safety officials say drug-impaired driving violations have been on the rise in Canada since data became available in 2009. In 2016, there were 3,098 incidents of police-reported drug-impaired driving, an increase of 11 per cent over the previous year, officials said.
The percentage of Canadian drivers killed in vehicle crashes who test positive for drugs (40 per cent) now exceeds that of drivers who test positive for alcohol (33.3 per cent), officials said.
“Don’t drive high. Too many Canadians badly need to hear that message—too many people downplay the potentially deadly risks of driving high,” Goodale said in a statement.
For the campaign the federal government has partnered with several organizations such as MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) Canada, Young Drivers of Canada, the Canadian Automobile Association and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, Goodale said.
“We will help Canadians, and especially youth and their parents, understand how your life can change in an instant when you drive high,” he said.
The government has a big job of changing public attitudes, especially among younger Canadians.
According to recent public opinion research, half of youth aged 16-24 believe that driving while under the influence of cannabis is more socially acceptable than driving under the influence of alcohol, officials said.
“While most people understand the dangers of mixing alcohol and driving, many people don’t fully understand the dangers of driving while under the influence of drugs,” said in a statement Patricia Hynes-Coates, national president of MADD Canada.
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