Pubdate: Fri, 28 Dec 2007 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2007 The Vancouver Sun Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 DRIVERS 'WHACKED' ON DRUGS VICTORIA - It's not just drunk drivers that Vancouver Island police say they've been catching this holiday season. Increasingly, people behind the wheel are high on some sort of drug as well. So much so that police in Saanich weren't surprised to see a man recently drive to a roadblock with a joint hanging out of his mouth. He'd tried to finish it before he reached the officers, but apparently didn't make it in time. The night the man and his unfinished marijuana cigarette rolled through the roadblock, Dec. 18, police issued the same number of 24-hour licence suspensions for drivers high on drugs as they did for drivers drunk on alcohol. They also caught a woman who was "absolutely whacked" on drugs and who was found nodding off while driving and slumped over the steering wheel just up the street from where officers were running their roadblock, said Staff Sgt. Mike Irwin, who coordinates roadblocks for police in Saanich. "Predominant is the alcohol," said Irwin. "It just hits you, the smell. Unless you have guys opening up the window after smoking a fatty. It's far more difficult to establish whether they're [drug] impaired." The federal government introduced a bill in November that would let police demand roadside sobriety tests and body-fluid samples from drivers suspected of drug impairment. It also raises minimum fines and jail time for driving while impaired by drugs. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek