MADD Canada Educates Ontario Youth About Dangers Of Impaired Driving

MADD Canada, the Canadian branch of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, announced Wednesday the beginning of its new 2019-2020 School Assembly Program to teach students about the consequences of impaired driving.

The program, "Over the Edge," is designed for students in grades 7-12 and discusses the possible outcomes of making a single decision of driving after drinking or doing drugs. 

Starting this week, MADD Canada school outreach representatives will travel Ontario to present the program, with a special screening scheduled for Friday at St. Mary Catholic Elementary School.

MADD Canada aims to deliver 1,400 presentations, educating hundreds of thousands of students.

Click here for more information about the upcoming Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference Oct. 22-23 in Chicago.

MADD Canada reports two notable statistics in its promotional video for "Over the Edge": 

• Road crashes are the leading cause of death among Canadians 16-25. 
• Alcohol and/or drugs are involved in more than half of those crashes.

This year’s program depicts the story of 17-year-old Sam, who moves back to her hometown to live with her father. Reunited with her old friends, she celebrates by drinking and smoking cannabis. The next morning, one of her friends end up driving impaired and causes a life-changing crash.

What makes the program more powerful are the interviews with real-life victims of impaired driving who share their tragic stories of losing their loved ones in crashes. The interviews are presented after the fictional story about Sam and her friends ends, MADD Canada said in a press release. 

The program is supported by national sponsors Allstate Insurance Company of Canada and Westcan Bulk Transport; and provincial sponsor LCBO.

Don’t miss out on the top cannabis stories of the day. Click here to sign up for our daily insider newsletter.