Pubdate: Mon, 30 Jun 2014
Source: Windsor Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2014 The Windsor Star
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/501
Author: Douglas Quan
Page: A 10
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?224 (Cannabis and Driving)

DRUG-IMPAIRED DRIVING LAW 'CUMBERSOME' TO ENFORCE

Six years after federal law changes gave police new powers to compel 
suspected drug-impaired drivers to take roadside sobriety tests, 
watchdogs say the system has been ineffective, resulting in few charges.

But there is no consensus as to what should be done about it.

A B.C. technology company is producing what it says will be the first 
commercial marijuana-detecting breathalyzer, but a prototype is still 
a few months away from release and needs further testing.

The advocacy group MADD Canada recently went to Parliament Hill to 
push the idea of random roadside saliva testing - a system already in 
use in Australia and Europe but is likely to draw concerns about 
civil liberties here.

And unlike the 0.08 per cent blood alcohol concentration threshold, 
there's no scientific consensus about how much consumption of certain 
drugs will cause impairment, further complicating matters.

"Were moving forward. We're not quite there yet," said Doug Beirness, 
an impaired-driving research consultant in Ontario.

The current challenges aren't a complete surprise, Beirness said. 
Just look at the introduction in 1969 of the national breathalyzer 
law to combat drunk drivers. It was fraught with growing pains, and 
lawyers are still arguing the reliability of the devices today.

"Any piece of technology will be challenged. And it will be 
challenged almost continuously."

Under 2008 Criminal Code amendments, an officer who suspects a driver 
may be impaired by drugs can demand that the driver take part in a 
physical co-ordination test, known as a Standardized Field Sobriety Test.

If the driver fails that test, the officer can compel the driver to 
go to the police station for a lengthier evaluation by a certified 
drug-recognition expert.

If, at the end of that evaluation, the expert believes the driver is 
impaired by a particular drug, the expert can order the driver to 
submit a blood, urine or saliva sample to confirm the presence of that drug.
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