STONED? TIME TO WALK THAT LINE

It was like a moment from a Cheech and Chong movie, with Const. Steve
Barnett checking on a suspicious vehicle while out on patrol.

The Comox Valley Mountie approached the car and knocked on the closed
window. The driver obliged by rolling it down.

"It was like an episode from Cheech and Chong . the smoke pouring
out," recalled Barnett, who issued a 24-hour driving suspension to
the "high" driver.

Drivers suspected of being stoned will face roadside tests and
compulsory urine, blood or salvia testing under a new law that went
into effect this week.

Motorists who refuse to comply will face a minimum $1,000 fine, the
same penalty for refusing a breathalyzer test.

This new law providing police with additional powers to nab
drug-impaired motorists has been intensely debated for almost five
years in Parliament. The law was finally passed, after three failed
attempts, and has been praised by law enforcement personnel who say
drugged drivers are escaping unpunished at a time when their numbers
are climbing.

Barnett said drugs are a major problem in the Comox Valley
detachment, and keep police busy. Fortunately, the psychostimulant
methamphetamine (meth) has not taken hold of drug users here as it
has elsewhere.

"If meth comes in here, it will change the landscape," advised
Barnett. "Right now, the drug that is a big problem is crack cocaine."

Meth is a highly addictive central nervous system stimulant that can
be injected, snorted, smoked, or ingested orally. Meth users feel a
short yet intense "rush" when the drug is initially administered. The
immediate effects of meth include increased activity and decreased appetite.

Barnett knows of people in their 50s and 60s who have never been drug
addicts, but are now after being hooked on crack cocaine.

"They get introduced to it a party when they are drunk," he said.
"You know it's bad when you can go into Cumberland and buy crack from
two different sellers. I know people who say they don't do drugs, but
they do smoke marijuana. They don't say it's drugs because they say
they don't do crack. Smoking marijuana (for them) is not doing drugs."

Barnett does not see marijuana being legalized in his lifetime, if
ever. He sees the benefits of the drug-driving law, but knows there
have to be protocols put in place first.

He said the RCMP's drug-testing lab will need to be modified to
handle the sudden influx of bodily fluids.

There's another potential problem in testing bodily fluids, with
tests being able to detect marijuana smoked several days or months earlier.

With the new law in place, if Barnett suspects a driver is high, he
will be required to perform physical tests at the side of the road,
such as walking in a straight line. If the motorist fails, he will be
taken to the detachment for further testing by a "drug recognition
expert." If the second test is flunked, then the motorist is required
to provide a saliva, blood or urine sample.

Recently, Barnett said a woman addicted to crack cocaine stopped him
at St. George's United Church and thanked him for saving her life. He
had arrested her previously and got her off the street and into
treatment for her drug problem.

Meanwhile, a 29-year-old Burnaby man is in police custody after a
kilogram of cocaine was found in a vehicle Monday near Buckley Bay.

RCMP's Street Crew Unit stopped the vehicle around 7:30 p.m. The
driver was arrested and the vehicle searched.

The kilogram of cocaine was found in a backpack inside the vehicle,
and was seized by police. Charges of possession for the purpose of
trafficking and breach of probation are being recommended to the
Crown by police.