Pubdate: Fri, 09 May 2014
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Copyright: 2014 The Baltimore Sun Company
Contact:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37
Author: Howard Wooldridge

POLICE CAN HANDLE DRUG-RELATED DUI

Writing as a retired street cop and a fierce enforcer of DUI laws, I 
am appalled that my colleagues in Maryland are not already trained to 
detect, test and arrest for non-alcohol DUI ("Authorities worried 
about drugged driving after new pot law takes effect," May 4). In 
Michigan, we learned such things when I was a rookie in the 1970s. Or 
were Frederick County State's Attorney Charles Smith and Montgomery 
County Police Chief Thomas Manger mistaken or just trying to scare folks?

Certainly, we have seen a drastic increase in driving and fatal 
accidents caused by drivers who took too much Oxycodone, Vicodin and 
other serious pain killers. And yes, driving under the influence of 
marijuana can be dangerous, and those drivers should go to jail. But 
if Chief Manger and Mr. Smith are accurate, who failed to train the 
officers in years past?

Howard J Wooldridge, Adamstown

The writer is co-founder of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom