DRIVERS ON DRUGS BEWARE

Fed Law a 'Great Tool' For Cops

Police will be looking for more than drunks when hunting impaired
drivers.

A new law kicks in today that allows police to demand blood, urine or
saliva samples of drivers suspected of being under the influence of
drugs.

"It's given us a great tool to get more impaired drivers off the
road," Const. Edmond Villamere, of York Region Police, said. He's one
of his force's newly trained drug recognition experts.

Federal legislation also provides new penalties for impaired drivers:
A mandatory $1,000 fine for first-time offenders and jail for those
convicted again.

Jonathan Lapid, a criminal defence lawyer specializing in impaired
driving cases, questions how police will use these new powers. "In
order to get to the point of a (drug test), you need reasonable
grounds of suspicion."

And defence lawyers are waiting for the chance to challenge the new
law in court.

"At some point, this is going to have to undergo objective scrutiny
under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms," Lapid said.

The federal government is confident the law will stand up in court,
but past cases may not be on their side.

In a January 2003 case in Pembroke, a judge acquitted a man of driving
while impaired by marijuana use because the judge wasn't able to
determine whether it was the drugs or his pre-existing multiple
sclerosis that caused the erratic driving.

It's not just defence lawyers who have concerns over the new
law.

The Canadian Safety Council has spent the past few years offering up
proposed changes to the law, recommending the federal government delay
its approval.

Seeing a group known for its mascot, Elmer the Safety Elephant,
hesitant about a law aimed to curb impaired driving may surprise some,
but the organization's reasoning is straightforward.

The lack of a "defensible criminal impairment level" for marijuana and
the fact prescription drugs are included without setting limits for
the "22,000 drugs available in Canada" concerns the group.