DRIVERS HIGH ON DRUGS FACE ROADSIDE TESTS FOR IMPAIRMENT

Controversial Law Scheduled To Come Into Effect Next Month

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 on July 2.

Drivers who refuse to comply will be subject to a minimum $1,000 fine
- -- the same penalty for refusing the breathalyser. 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 breathalyser 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 pulled out to pass another
vehicle and caused a highway 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 B.C. 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.

Critics say the new law could cause more problems that it solves,
particularly because there is no reliable scientific test to detect
drug use. Also, while there is a measurable link between blood alcohol
levels and driving ability, research is lacking to equate drug
quantity and impairment.

Another potential problem in testing bodily fluids is that they can
detect marijuana smoked several days or months earlier and the effect
has worn off.

"This kind of testing doesn't test for impairment, it tests for past
use of a substance and we know with certain substances they stay for a
long time," said Mollard.

Federal privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart and the Canadian Bar
Association have also raised alarm bells.