Canadian Lawyer

32 www.canadianlawyermag.com But recreational marijuana use and social drinking are both legal and generally socially acceptable — as long as it doesn't impact the parenting and safety of the child, which is the key test in family law. "It's enshrined in all of the legislation," Johnson says. "Not just the Divorce Act but every single province has that as the test as it relates to parenting of the children." There may be some novel leniency to a recre- ational user of a now-legal substance that does not impact their parenting, but Johnson says any abuse of legal drugs — or even recreation- al use — can still be a disease and tear families apart. Judges and arbitrators will take allega- tions of any harm to the children seriously. "Drug testing — it should and it will be or- dered for marijuana when it's required," he adds. If there is a suspicion that somebody is sub- stance abusing, the question becomes how can it be monitored in a meaningful way, Pawlitza says. "The answer is it's difficult. If family lawyers have a substance abuse case that is not alco- hol-related, there can be real difficulties in trying to get to the bottom of whether or not you're getting accurate testing." If testing is ordered, a urine test that looks for an array of commonly used substances is a standard option. With urine tests, the reg- ular use of THC means it can be detected for approximately 21 days. Someone who smokes FAMILIES IN CANADA* LEGAL REPORT FAMILY LAW "There's no foolproof, go-to solution for how you test for substance abuse in these circumstances if you have a user who is determined to beat the test." Laurie Pawlitza, Torkin Manes LLP 1.3M (6%) are separated or divorced from a marriage 364K (28%) of those were in marriages for less than 7 years 195K (15%) of those were in marriages for 7-9 years 741K (57%) of those were in marriages for 10 years or more 1.6M (8%) are separated from a common-law relationship 1.184M (74%) of those were common-law relationships of less than 7 years 176K (11%) of those were in common-law relationships for 7-9 years 176K (15%) of those were in common-law relationships for 10 years or more cannabis occasionally may have detectible amounts of THC for around eight days. Although many people think a urine test is a solution, "it turns out it's pretty easy to beat," Pawlitza says, particularly if it's not truly ran- * 20M total population of 25-64 years old in Canada in 2017, StatsCan

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