A lit joint and strong smell stood out for an Oak Bay officer as a vehicle pulled up to a two-department road block late on June 28.
The Oak Bay and Saanich police departments were working the municipal border around Richmond Road when a vehicle pulled up shortly after 11:30 p.m. The officer immediately noted a strong odour of burned cannabis, the Oak Bay department said in its weekly briefs.
The 63-year-old man driving said he “just smoked a joint and was planning on smoking one more on the drive home,” police said.
He subsequently performed poorly on a standardized field sobriety test and the officer determined the man’s ability to operate a vehicle was affected by a drug. The man was issued a 24-hour driving prohibition and a ticket for operating a vehicle in possession of cannabis, which comes with a $230 fine. The vehicle was impounded for 24 hours.
Earlier that night, just after after 10 p.m. at the same joint roadblock, a vehicle drove up to the Oak Bay officer who again noted a strong odour of cannabis. The 20-year-old man driving also showed signs of having smoked cannabis and was issued a 24-hour driving prohibition. The vehicle was impounded for 24 hours.