Accessibility Statement Skip Navigation
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • Webcasts
  • Data Privacy
  • Français
  • my CNW 
    • Login
    • Register
  • Client Login 
    • Online Member Centre
    • Next Gen Communications Cloud
    • Cision Communications Cloud®
  • Sign Up
  • Send a Release
Return to PR Newswire homepage
  • News
  • Products
  • Contact
When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type.

Searching for your content...

No results found. Please change your search terms and try again.
Advanced Search
  • News in Focus
      • Browse News Releases

      • All News Releases
      • All Public Company
      • News Releases Overview

      • Multimedia Gallery

      • All Multimedia
      • All Photos
      • All Videos
      • Multimedia Gallery Overview

      • Trending Topics

      • All Trending Topics
  • Business
      • Auto & Transportation

      • All Automotive & Transportation
      • Aerospace, Defense
      • Air Freight
      • Airlines & Aviation
      • Automotive
      • Maritime & Shipbuilding
      • Railroads and Intermodal Transportation
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Transportation, Trucking & Railroad
      • Travel
      • Trucking and Road Transportation
      • Auto & Transportation Overview

      • View All Auto & Transportation

      • Business Technology

      • All Business Technology
      • Blockchain
      • Broadcast Tech
      • Computer & Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Components
      • Electronic Design Automation
      • Financial Technology
      • High Tech Security
      • Internet Technology
      • Nanotechnology
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Semiconductors
      • Business Technology Overview

      • View All Business Technology

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • All Entertain­ment & Media
      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • Entertain­ment & Media Overview

      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Financial Services & Investing

      • All Financial Services & Investing
      • Accounting News & Issues
      • Acquisitions, Mergers and Takeovers
      • Banking & Financial Services
      • Bankruptcy
      • Bond & Stock Ratings
      • Conference Call Announcements
      • Contracts
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Dividends
      • Earnings
      • Earnings Forecasts & Projections
      • Financing Agreements
      • Insurance
      • Investments Opinions
      • Joint Ventures
      • Mutual Funds
      • Private Placement
      • Real Estate
      • Restructuring & Recapitalization
      • Sales Reports
      • Shareholder Activism
      • Shareholder Meetings
      • Stock Offering
      • Stock Split
      • Venture Capital
      • Financial Services & Investing Overview

      • View All Financial Services & Investing

      • General Business

      • All General Business
      • Awards
      • Commercial Real Estate
      • Corporate Expansion
      • Earnings
      • Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
      • Human Resource & Workforce Management
      • Licensing
      • New Products & Services
      • Obituaries
      • Outsourcing Businesses
      • Personnel Announcements
      • Real Estate Transactions
      • Residential Real Estate
      • Small Business Services
      • Socially Responsible Investing
      • Surveys, Polls and Research
      • Trade Show News
      • General Business Overview

      • View All General Business

  • Science & Tech
      • Consumer Technology

      • All Consumer Technology
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Blockchain
      • Cloud Computing/Internet of Things
      • Computer Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Consumer Electronics
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Gaming
      • Financial Technology
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Multimedia & Internet
      • Peripherals
      • Social Media
      • STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math)
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Wireless Communications
      • Consumer Technology Overview

      • View All Consumer Technology

      • Energy & Natural Resources

      • All Energy
      • Alternative Energies
      • Chemical
      • Electrical Utilities
      • Gas
      • General Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Oil & Energy
      • Oil and Gas Discoveries
      • Utilities
      • Water Utilities
      • Energy & Natural Resources Overview

      • View All Energy & Natural Resources

      • Environ­ment

      • All Environ­ment
      • Conservation & Recycling
      • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Policy
      • Environmental Products & Services
      • Green Technology
      • Natural Disasters
      • Environ­ment Overview

      • View All Environ­ment

      • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • All Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
      • Aerospace & Defense
      • Agriculture
      • Chemical
      • Construction & Building
      • General Manufacturing
      • HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning)
      • Machinery
      • Machine Tools, Metalworking and Metallurgy
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Paper, Forest Products & Containers
      • Precious Metals
      • Textiles
      • Tobacco
      • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing Overview

      • View All Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Telecomm­unications

      • All Telecomm­unications
      • Carriers and Services
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Telecommunications Equipment
      • Telecommunications Industry
      • VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
      • Wireless Communications
      • Telecomm­unications Overview

      • View All Telecomm­unications

  • Lifestyle & Health
      • Consumer Products & Retail

      • All Consumer Products & Retail
      • Animals & Pets
      • Beers, Wines and Spirits
      • Beverages
      • Bridal Services
      • Cannabis
      • Cosmetics and Personal Care
      • Fashion
      • Food & Beverages
      • Furniture and Furnishings
      • Home Improvement
      • Household, Consumer & Cosmetics
      • Household Products
      • Jewelry
      • Non-Alcoholic Beverages
      • Office Products
      • Organic Food
      • Product Recalls
      • Restaurants
      • Retail
      • Supermarkets
      • Toys
      • Consumer Products & Retail Overview

      • View All Consumer Products & Retail

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • All Entertain­ment & Media
      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • Entertain­ment & Media Overview

      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Health

      • All Health
      • Biometrics
      • Biotechnology
      • Clinical Trials & Medical Discoveries
      • Dentistry
      • FDA Approval
      • Fitness/Wellness
      • Health Care & Hospitals
      • Health Insurance
      • Infection Control
      • International Medical Approval
      • Medical Equipment
      • Medical Pharmaceuticals
      • Mental Health
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Supplementary Medicine
      • Health Overview

      • View All Health

      • Sports

      • All Sports
      • General Sports
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Sporting Events
      • Sports Equipment & Accessories
      • Sports Overview

      • View All Sports

      • Travel

      • All Travel
      • Amusement Parks and Tourist Attractions
      • Gambling & Casinos
      • Hotels and Resorts
      • Leisure & Tourism
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Passenger Aviation
      • Travel Industry
      • Travel Overview

      • View All Travel

  • Policy & Public Interest
      • Policy & Public Interest

      • All Policy & Public Interest
      • Advocacy Group Opinion
      • Animal Welfare
      • Canadian Federal Government
      • Canadian Municipal Government
      • Canadian Provincial Government
      • Corporate Social Responsibility
      • Domestic Policy
      • Economic News, Trends, Analysis
      • Education
      • Environmental
      • European Government
      • FDA Approval
      • Federal and State Legislation
      • Federal Executive Branch & Agency
      • Foreign Policy & International Affairs
      • Homeland Security
      • Labor & Union
      • Legal Issues
      • Natural Disasters
      • Not For Profit
      • Patent Law
      • Public Safety
      • Trade Policy
      • Policy & Public Interest Overview

      • View All Policy & Public Interest

  • People & Culture
      • People & Culture

      • All People & Culture
      • Aboriginal, First Nations & Native American
      • African American
      • Asian American
      • Children
      • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
      • Hispanic
      • Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual
      • Men's Interest
      • People with Disabilities
      • Religion
      • Senior Citizens
      • Veterans
      • Women
      • People & Culture Overview

      • View All People & Culture

  • Advanced Search
  • Overview
  • Multichannel Amplification
  • Monitoring
  • Distribution
  • Multimedia
  • Guaranteed Paid Placement
  • AI Tools
  • IR
  • Become a Client
  • Request a Demo
  • Editorial Bureaus
  • Partnerships
  • General Enquiries
  • Media
  • Worldwide Offices
  • Hamburger menu
  • Cision Canada
  • Send a Release
  • FR
    • Phone

    • 877-269-7890 from 8 AM - 10 PM ET

    • ALL CONTACT INFO
    • Contact Cision

      877-269-7890
      from 8 AM - 10 PM ET

  • Send a Release
  • Sign Up
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • Webcasts
  • GDPR
  • News in Focus
    • Browse All News
    • Multimedia Gallery
    • Trending Topics
  • Business
    • Auto & Transportation
    • Business Technology
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Financial Services & Investing
    • General Business
  • Science & Tech
    • Consumer Technology
    • Energy & Natural Resources
    • Environ­ment
    • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
    • Telecomm­unications
  • Lifestyle & Health
    • Consumer Products & Retail
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Travel
  • Policy & Public Interest
    • Policy & Public Interest
  • People & Culture
    • People & Culture
  • Send a Release
  • Sign Up
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • Webcasts
  • GDPR
  • Overview
  • Multichannel Amplification
  • Monitoring
  • Distribution
  • Multimedia
  • Guaranteed Paid Placement
  • AI Tools
  • IR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign Up
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • Webcasts
  • GDPR
  • Become a Client
  • Request a Demo
  • Editorial Bureaus
  • Partnerships
  • General Enquiries
  • Media
  • Worldwide Offices
  • Send a Release
  • Sign Up
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • Webcasts
  • GDPR

Canadians Indicate Growing Concern About Road Safety at One-Year Anniversary of Recreational Cannabis Legalization, New Survey Finds

-- Oct. 17, 2019, marks the one-year anniversary of legalized recreational cannabis nationwide

-- A year after legalization, 71% of Canadians are concerned about its impact on road safety

-- Survey shows Canadians want more to be done to keep roads safe


News provided by

Abbott

Oct 15, 2019, 08:00 ET

Share this article

Share toX

Share this article

Share toX

TORONTO, Oct. 15, 2019 /CNW/ -- A new survey released by Abbott (NYSE: ABT), a global healthcare leader, shows Canadians are growing more concerned over the impact of cannabis on road safety. These results come one year after recreational marijuana became legal nationwide with the implementation of Bill C-45.

According to a recent survey of 1,002 Canadian adults conducted by Atomik Research on behalf of Abbott, almost half of Canadians (46%) do not believe enough is being done to stop drugged driving while 43% of respondents do not believe law enforcement has a reliable way to quickly test a driver at the roadside for being under the influence of drugs.1

Additional statistics uncovered from the survey, designed to gauge behaviors and attitudes toward drug-impaired driving and road safety, include:

  • One-third of respondents (33%) personally know someone who has "driven an automobile soon after taking drugs"
  • Nearly one third of Canadians (30%) have heard someone say: "I drive better when I've smoked marijuana," or similar
  • Half of respondents believe that for the majority of DUI arrests, the driver is under the influence of a single drug and alcohol

These findings echo similar themes collected by CAA national in a recent poll showing that more than one in five Canadians (21%) say they have been a passenger in a vehicle where the driver has ingested marijuana.2,3

"Canada deserves a great deal of credit for approving roadside cannabis testing technologies, which give law enforcement an added tool to identify drug-impaired drivers," said Erin Holmes, vice president, Criminal Justice and Technical Writer, Criminal Justice Programs at Responsibility.org, and subject matter expert on alcohol and drug-impaired driving. "However, these survey results affirm that more must be done to educate cannabis consumers about the profound public safety implications to driving while high," said Holmes, who is an alumna of the University of Ottawa.

Tools and Technology to Keep Roads Safe

Roadside drug testing tools are critical to not only help law enforcement detect drug-impaired drivers but also act as a deterrent and cause a motorist to think twice before getting behind the wheel.

Currently, many law enforcement agencies rely on blood and urine tests to confirm whether a driver has taken drugs. However, blood sample collection can take hours to collect and analyze so it may not offer a true snapshot at the time of the incident or traffic stop.

To help law enforcement detect and deter drug-impaired drivers at the roadside, Abbott developed SoToxa, a handheld device that analyzes a subject's oral fluid to determine if they have recently taken drugs. Approved for use in Canada in July 2019, SoToxa will indicate within minutes whether a driver has recently consumed marijuana.

"Keeping people safe from drug-impaired drivers is an enormous responsibility," said Chris Scoggins, senior vice president, Rapid Diagnostics, Abbott. "Our aim is to lend our voice and expertise to this public health imperative and partner with law enforcement, policy experts, academics, victim advocates, and community leaders to keep the roadways safe."

ABOUT THE SURVEY

Abbott commissioned unbiased, third-part vendor, Atomik Research to run an online survey of 1,002 adults in Canada. Data were collected between June 21 and 28, 2019.

ABOUT SOTOXA

SoToxa™, formerly known as the Alere DDS®2 Mobile Test System, is a portable system designed for rapid screening and detection of drugs in oral fluid. SoToxa is able to generate test results in minutes, indicating the presence of amphetamine, benzodiazepines, cannabis (THC), cocaine, methamphetamine, and opiates. In Canada, SoToxa is approved for roadside detection of THC.

In addition, the technology is lightweight, easy to use and built for the rugged and unpredictable nature of a police officer's real-life work environment. Because SoToxa uses oral fluid to screen for the active presence of the parent drug – not the drug's metabolite – it only registers recent usage and will not indicate historical drug usage.

Today, the device is used in countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Germany, where it's also approved to test for cocaine, opiates, amphetamines, methamphetamines and benzodiazepines.

ABOUT ABBOTT

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 103,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

ABOUT ABBOTT IN CANADA

Abbott has been present in Canada since 1931 when we established our first business in Old Montreal. Since then, we've been dedicated to helping people live healthier lives through a diverse range of science-based nutritional products, diagnostic tools, and vascular devices.

With nearly 1,500 employees today at our headquarters in Montreal, our Point of Care plant in Ottawa, our Diabetes Care office in Mississauga, and a lactulose manufacturing plant in Victoriaville, Abbott in Canada reflects our dedication to manufacturing the highest-quality products and finding lasting solutions to the unique health challenges facing the country.

Connect with us at www.abbott.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Abbott and on Twitter @AbbottNews and @AbbottGlobal.

1 Abbott survey, June 2019
2 CAA National polling, December 2018
3 Abbott's survey is not affiliated with surveys and research conducted by CAA

SOURCE Abbott

Media, John Koval, +1-224-668-5355, [email protected], Kim LaFleur, +1-224-668-5269, [email protected]; or Financial, Laura Dauer, +1-224-667-2299, [email protected], https://www.abbott.com/

Related Links

https://www.abbott.com/

Modal title

Organization Profile

Abbott

    Also from this source

  • Abbott Receives Health Canada Authorization for Whole Blood Rapid Test to Help Assess Suspected Concussions

  • Abbott's 'Above the Bias' Film Reveals Misconceptions Can Impact Diabetes Care

  • Abbott's FreeStyle Libre® 2 Now Reimbursed for Children and Adults Living with Diabetes in Alberta

Contact Cision

  • 866-245-2317
    from 8 AM - 10 PM ET
  • Become a Client
  • Request a Demo
  • Editorial Bureaus
  • Partnerships
  • General Enquiries
  • Media

Products

  • Cision Communications Cloud®
  • Media Monitoring
  • Content Distribution
  • Multimedia Distribution
  • Measurement & Analytics
  • Investor Relations

About

  • About Cision Canada
  • About Cision
  • Media Partners
  • Careers
  • Accessibility Statement
  • APAC
  • APAC - Simplified Chinese
  • APAC - Traditional Chinese
  • Brazil
  • Canada
  • Czech
  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Israel
  • Japan
  • Korea
  • Mexico
  • Middle East
  • Middle East - Arabic
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Russia
  • Slovakia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • United States
  • Vietnam

My Services

  • All News Releases
  • Online Member Centre
  • Next Gen Communications Cloud
  • Cision Communications Cloud®
  • my CNW

Do not sell or share my personal information:

  • Submit via [email protected] 
  • Call Privacy toll-free: 877-297-8921

Contact Cision

Products

About

My Services
  • All News Releases
  • Online Member Centre
  • Next Gen Communications Cloud
  • Cision Communications Cloud
  • my CNW
877-269-7890
from 8 AM - 10 PM ET
  • Terms of Use
  • Information Security Policy
  • Site Map
  • Cookie Settings
  • Accessibility Statement
Copyright © 2025 CNW Group Ltd. All Rights Reserved. A Cision company.