BLOOD TESTING FOR HIGH DRIVERS

Drivers suspected of being high on drugs could be facing an unwelcome
needle at the hands of police.

New federal legislation enacted on July 2 allows police to collect
blood and fluids from drivers suspected of being high on drugs.

However, local officers will not be acting on the new laws for a while.

Training to spot the signs of drug impairment is not yet in place in
Alberta. A number of officers in each RCMP detachment will also have
to be trained to determine what kind of sample will be taken. How
drug-related driving investigations are handled is also still
undetermined, said RCMP spokesperson Const. Ray Lucko.

"The training is forthcoming," Lucko said.

Currently, officers handling impaired driving investigations visually
identify signs of impairment, and then administer a roadside test
that only screens for alcohol. If the suspect fails the roadside
sobriety test, they are taken to the RCMP detachment for a test with
an intoxylizer. At the Okotoks detachment eight of the 23 officers
are trained to use the intoxylizer to ensure someone certified to
administer the test is in the office at all times.

Staff Sgt. Wade Sparks said that although he hasn't received any
direction on the procedure that will be used for suspected drug
impaired drivers, he believes it will be effective.

"It certainly gives us another set of tools to identify people who
are driving under the influence of drugs," he said.

Under previous legislation the ability of officers to demand blood or
fluid samples was severely restricted.

The only situation that blood could be drawn was during a drunk
driving investigation where the suspect driver is seriously injured
and a doctor authorized that blood be taken.

If signs of alcohol impairment were not observed police were not
authorized to collect blood or fluid. Officers had to rely on their
observations and driving pattern to secure a conviction, which is not
easy in cases where the person is only mildly under the influence, Lucko said.

"This will allow us to determine exactly what is in their system even
in minute amounts," Lucko said. "We will be able to tell if it is
cocaine, marijuana, even prescription drugs."

Once RCMP have ironed out their end of the legislation there are
expected to be constitutional challenges to the collection of
people's bodily fluids.

Calgary lawyer Stephen Jenuth said he believes the new laws are
contrary to people's rights and will not be effective.

"It certainly is an invasion of people's bodies to take these
samples," Jenuth said.

He questions why the government felt it was necessary to enact
legislation around drugs and driving.

"I don't know if there is such a scourge of drug involved driving
that it is justified," he said.

Science around drug use is also questionable when it comes to
identifying when a drug was taken, he added.

"I don't think they have that magic ability," Jenuth said.