Pubdate: Wed, 10 Mar 2004
Source: Langley Times (CN BC)
Copyright: 2004 BC Newspaper Group and New Media Development
Contact:  http://www.langleytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1230
Author: Natasha Jones
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

EXPERT CAN'T EXPLAIN READING

An expert witness called by the defence said that for a driver to have
a THC level of 144 nanograms/ml in his blood, he must have smoked a
joint of marijuana between three and 53 minutes before a sample of his
blood was taken after a fatal traffic accident.

In testimony in Provincial Court in Surrey on Monday, Wayne Jeffery, a
retired RCMP forensic toxicologist, could not explain such a reading,
given that the blood sample of the driver was taken two hours after
the crash.

Jeffery was on the witness stand on Monday at the Youth Court trial of
a Langley teen charged with impaired driving causing death and
dangerous driving causing death. Because the accused was 16 at the
time of the crash on April 4, 2002, his identity is shielded by the
Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The crash occurred at 10 p.m. in the 6300 block of 264 Street. Dayton
Unger, 16, died at the scene. He was riding in the back seat of the
accused's 2000 Mustang with a 16-year-old boy, Simon Featherson, who
died later in hospital.

Simon and Dayton had known each other since kindergarten.

The front-seat passenger, a 16-year-old boy, survived his
injuries.

Last autumn, Dr. Stewart Huckin of the Provincial Toxicology Centre,
testified that the level of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in the
accused's blood was the highest he had ever seen.

THC is the primary intoxicant of marijuana.

Jeffery was not able to explain the high level of the intoxicant in
the accused's blood, and told Judge Bill MacDonald that a reading
taken from blood two hours after the crash should have resulted in a
reading closer to five to 10 nanograms/ml.

In cross-examination, Crown counsel Winston Sayson elicited an
acknowledgment from Jeffery that Huckin is recognized as an expert in
his field, and that the Provincial Toxicology Centre is a legitimate
and credible organization.

Jeffery also acknowledged that the instrument used by the centre to
identify and quantify the level of THC in the accused's blood is the
same one used at the RCMP forensic lab, and is capable of accurately
identifying and quantifying THC in the blood.

He found nothing wrong with the test results obtained by the
Provincial Toxicology Centre.

Jeffery agreed with Sayson that if Judge MacDonald accepted the
Crown's evidence regarding the THC reading, the accused would
definitely be impaired. "Do you agree it would be dangerous for him to
drive?" Sayson asked.

Jeffery replied that it would.

The Crown suggested that there is no evidence that the accused smoked
only one joint, and that a reading of even five to 10 nanograms/ml
would have resulted in the driver being impaired.

There is no evidence that either of the two boys who died had consumed
pot, Sayson said.
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