Pubdate: Wed, 18 May 2005 Source: Ottawa Sun (CN ON) Copyright: 2005 Canoe Limited Partnership Contact: http://www.ottawasun.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/329 Author: Nelly Elayoubi Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?224 (Cannabis and Driving) VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS TRAGIC RESULT OF TOKING, DRIVING Marilyn Record tries to keep her composure as she wipes her wet eyes with a tissue, reminiscing about her dead son. The sound of Dustin Record bursting through the front door, his laughter filling the house, or stories of his basketball practice have been replaced with a silence that still haunts Marilyn today. "He was the love of my life," she said. Dustin and his four close friends -- Stan Thomson, 18, Alan Siew, 17, David Rider, 16, and Homoyoun Chaudry, 17 -- died in a horrific four-vehicle crash in June 1999. BROKEN HEART Dustin was 17. Today, he'd be 23. Through his untimely and premature death, Marilyn learned the true meaning of the unremitting emptiness of a broken heart. "Nothing ever takes the place of your son. Ever," she said. The two occupants of a pickup truck involved in the crash, Max Beyore, 37, and Tim Cole, 35, were seriously injured and Beyore has since had his leg amputated. Almost six years later, the crash has resurfaced and is highlighted in a video to be distributed in schools across Canada. MADD Canada, the RCMP, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the Toronto Police Service came together to produce the 20-minute video, Not Ready To Go, that chronicles the events of the 14 friends returning from a party to celebrate the end of the school year. TIMELY EFFORT It's especially timely as schools across the country ready for the end of the year with the added temptations of warm weather and partying. The organizations hope that the disturbing images of the dead teens' bodies on the side of the road will remain stamped in the minds of teenagers and make them think twice before driving impaired or getting into a vehicle with someone who has been drinking or taking drugs. "The reality is it's not pretty and that needs to be put forward," said MADD Canada's national President Karen Dunham. The teen responsible for the collision later admitted in court to smoking marijuana on the night of the crash. This is the first time Canadian cops have taken the issue of drugs and driving into schools as more and more teens choose toking over drinking, said RCMP Chief Supt. Raf Souccar, who is also vice-chair of the CACP Drug Abuse committee. Pot has become more easily accessible, even more so than alcohol and cigarettes. Debate over the decriminalization of pot doesn't help, Souccar added, because it creates a misconception that marijuana is a safe drug and can be used while driving. PROPOSED LEGISLATION Legislation introduced last October would make it mandatory for those suspected of drug-impaired driving to provide a body fluid sample. The organizations coming together to make the video are pushing for the legislation to be passed, with growing concern it will be dropped should Parliament be dissolved. "If someone's life can be saved, I can take that as a positive," Marilyn said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom