DRUG-IMPAIRED DRIVERS FACE FINES, DEMAND FOR BODY FLUIDS

OTTAWA - Drivers who get behind the wheel while high on drugs will
face roadside testing and they could be ordered to surrender urine,
blood or saliva samples at the police station under a controversial
new law that takes effect one week from today.

Drivers who refuse to comply will be subject to a minimum $1,000 fine
- -- the same penalty for refusing the breathalyzer.

Police will be given their new powers to nab drug-impaired drivers
after almost five years of intense debate in the federal Parliament.

The law, passed this year after three failed attempts, has been lauded
by law enforcement and groups who say drug-induced drivers are
escaping unpunished at a time when their numbers are climbing.

"Love it," said Gregg Thomson, a father from Kanata, Ont., who
predicted Tuesday that the new testing will deter people from driving
under the influence of drugs, just as the breathalyzer test produced a
drop in drunk driving.

Thomson has been lobbying for a new law since 1999, when his son,
Stan, and four of his high-school friends were killed when a
17-year-old who had been smoking marijuana attempted a highway pass
that led to a pileup.

The crash became a catalyst for the group Mothers Against Drunk
Driving to start pushing for changes to the Criminal Code, which
outlaws drug-impaired driving but until now has not included measures
that allow police to order a battery of tests.

The new law, however, has sparked warnings about potential court
battles from critics who contend that demanding bodily fluids is
overly intrusive and scientifically unreliable in detecting drug impairment.

"This is going to be challenged left and right," predicted Murray
Mollard, executive director of the British Columbia Civil Liberties
Association.

Beginning next Wednesday, drivers suspected of being high will be
required to perform physical tests at the side of the road, such as
walking a straight line.

If they fail, they will be sent to the police station for further
testing by a trained "drug recognition expert" and then be forced to
give blood, urine, or saliva samples if they flunk the second test as
well.