TACKLING 'DRUG' DRIVING

The way impaired drivers are investigated by police is headed for
change.

Bill C-32, which has passed second reading in Parliament, would expand
the scope of police authority in determining whether a person is
impaired by alcohol or drugs.

The bill will expand drug enforcement capabilities by giving police
the power to demand drivers perform sobriety tests. It would also give
police the authority to demand bodily fluid samples.

As a side-effect, it will also increase the need for drug recognition
experts in policing agencies, officers who have been trained to
identify what type of drug a person has taken, just by observing them.
Back in the day, Cheech and Chong might have gotten away with driving
down the road after smoking a joint, especially if they hadn't had a
drop of alcohol. This bill could change that.

Const. Tony Roach of the Pictou County RCMP recently received his
certification as a drug recognition expert. He's one of a handful of
officers in northern Nova Scotia who have the certification. As per
his training, he's able to determine what family of drugs a person has
taken - alcohol for instance is a central nervous system depressant.

Take a marijuana joint, for instance:

"A lot of people, with cannabis don't realize that it impairs. You may
just very well smoke marijuana and think you can drive - but marijuana
will impair and you can be charged with impaired driving just by
smoking marijuana alone."

Currently in the province, there is no provision to indicate suspected
drug use in a roadside screening. Other provinces have taken that step.

If Bill C-32 comes into effect, the only question officers will have
to answer, unequivocally, is, "Is your ability to operate a motor
vehicle safely impaired?"

Many police officers in Canada are already trained to give a field
sobriety test. For anyone who's been to the U.S. and seen someone
trying to walk a straight line and touch their nose - under the close
observation of a state trooper - this is what we're talking about.

In a sobriety test, you will be asked to walk a straight line, one
foot in front of the other, and then back. The obvious application of
this process is balance. You're also being gauged on your ability to
follow directions, and more importantly Roach says, your ability to do
more than one thing at a time.

"What I look for is, do you stop walking - or if you start too soon.
Because it's a divided attention test. Drunk people can do one thing
very well. As soon as they try to do two things, that's when there are
problems."

The test, while separate from the D.R.E. process, is voluntary in this
country. If the federal government passes Bill C-32, a demand for such
tests will carry the same weight as a breathalyser demand.

If suspected drug use is involved, the driver could be required to
return to a police station for a D.R.E. evaluation by an officer like
Roach.

His observations then could be used as evidence in the prosecution of
an impaired driving charge. The D.R.E. process also involves getting a
toxicological report on a bodily fluid sample obtained during an arrest.

So, here's a bit of background: Bill C-32 deals with section 253 of
the Criminal Code of Canada. Those who have been charged with offences
under this section will know that often a 253 (a) charge - which is
operation while impaired by alcohol or a drug - accompanies a 253 (b)
charge, which is for failing a breathalyser test. There is a separate
charge for refusing to take a breath test but it usually carries the
same weight in a sentencing.

It's common in court proceedings that when an accused pleads guilty to
a 253 (b) charge, the Crown will withdraw the 253 (a) charge.

If Parliament passes Bill C-32, then it's likely the number of
convictions entered under 253 (a) will increase, especially those
related to those who have been caught driving while under the
influence of drugs.

It's all about making the road a safer place, he says.

"It doesn't have to be deliberate. People have to be cautious. If,
say, you went to your doctor and you were given a prescription for
Valium - you might very well build up a tolerance," he said.

Drugs affect different people in different ways. And throughout his
career, Roach said he's seen people from all walks of life, under all
manner of circumstances. And they all react differently.

"Just somebody's not having a beer or smoking a joint or doing a line
of cocaine - they could be just taking valium - a lot of times those
people aren't thinking, 'Wow, I could be impaired by a drug and kill
somebody'."

"So, what we want to do is, obviously, make the road safer. This is
just one more step towards that.