Pubdate: Fri, 01 Jul 2005
Source: News & Advance, The (VA)
Copyright: 2005 Media General
Contact:  http://www.newsadvance.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2087
Author: Kevin Crossett

DRUG LAW TARGETS IMPAIRED DRIVERS

Driving under the influence of drugs becomes easier to prosecute in 
Virginia as a tougher drug law takes effect today.

Approved this past winter by the General Assembly, the law 
establishes a blood concentration threshold for certain drugs, akin 
to blood alcohol content standards used in alcohol-related cases.

It's included in a handful of new laws that target alcohol and drug 
use, including increased penalties for hunting while intoxicated and 
for refusing a sobriety test. Another law adds mopeds to the list of 
vehicles subject to Virginia's DUI laws.

Law enforcement officials credit the current 0.08 blood alcohol 
concentration limit for reducing the number of intoxicated drivers on 
Virginia roads.

No threshold levels existed for drugs, said Bob McDonnell, chairman 
of the House of Delegates' Courts of Justice Committee and the GOP's 
candidate for attorney general this fall.

That changed today.

Threshold limits have now been established for cocaine, 
methamphetamine, PCP and ecstasy.

The intoxicating agent present in marijuana, 
delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, is not included in the new regulations.

Del. Bill Carrico, R-Independence, said his original bill included 
marijuana, but it was removed after lawmakers heard testimony from 
marijuana advocates that too little statistical data exists to 
establish a threshold of intoxication.

Pete Marone, director of technical services with the Virginia 
Department of Forensic Science, said drug effects are not as 
consistent as with alcohol and can affect people differently. 
Furthermore, the effect can be complicated depending on the drug 
combinations that may be ingested.

He said data is being compiled nationwide through blood tests from 
drug cases to determine a threshold for marijuana intoxication. Since 
human drug testing is difficult, Marone said, getting the data to 
establish a defensible level that everyone can agree on will take time.

Carrico plans to add marijuana to the list in the future legislation 
as more data becomes available.

"You can't have it in your pocket; why have it in your system?" he said.

Carrico prefers a zero tolerance approach to drug use, but said the 
threshold levels for the drugs are adequate to keep users off the road.

"If you take a snort of cocaine, you're over it," he said.

Capt. Kevin Schmitt of the Campbell County Sheriff's Office said the 
new law wouldn't change the way law enforcement officers check 
impaired drivers.

He added that it's easier to detect alcohol during a traffic stop.

"With alcohol, you can smell it on them," Schmitt said. "With drugs, 
there is no odor."

Officers often rely on physical signs of intoxication associated with 
impairment to employ a field sobriety test.

Breathalyzer tests bolster the evidence against the driver in alcohol 
cases, but the test is ineffective to prove drug use. That means 
officers usually depend on the driver's behavior to establish 
probable cause for an arrest.

A blood test can only be administered after the driver has been arrested.

That's when the benefits of the new law take effect, said Mike 
Doucette, chief deputy commonwealth attorney for Lynchburg.

Previous convictions for driving under the influence of drugs relied 
on testimony from the arresting officer, the blood test that 
confirmed the presence of a narcotic and expert testimony from a 
toxicologist who confirmed whether the narcotic's blood concentration 
was enough to cause impairment.

Such expert testimony is unnecessary now that an accepted threshold 
has been established.

"It eliminates the requirement that we prove the person was under the 
influence. We just have to prove they had a level of drugs in their 
system," said Campbell County Commonwealth Attorney Neil Vener.

It's difficult to determine how prevalent driving under the influence 
of drugs is in Central Virginia. Law enforcement agencies can't 
easily separate drug-related arrests from alcohol-related arrests.

In 2004, Lynchburg officers arrested 187 drivers for driving under 
the influence of either drugs or alcohol. They have arrested 146 
drivers since the first of the year.

Campbell County arrested 115 drivers in 2004 and 46 so far this year.

In most cases, alcohol was identified as a primary factor in the 
arrest, Vener said. He added that no further tests are necessary 
after alcohol has been identified because drivers can't be convicted 
further for using both substances.

By not testing beyond the alcohol standard in drunken-driving cases, 
it's impossible to tell whether drugs were also present in the driver's system.

"It's driving while intoxicated. It doesn't matter if it's alcohol or 
cocaine. It's the intoxication that is the crime," Vener said.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth