POLICE HANDCUFFED BY DRUG-IMPAIRED DRIVERS

Proposed Legislation Would Give Police More Power To Detect, Arrest
Drivers Under The Influence Of Drugs

After a concerned citizen spots a vehicle weaving from curb to curb
along Scenic Drive, Lethbridge regional police are called to intervene.

Const. Dave Easter stops the vehicle and, upon approaching the
driver's side, recognizes the woman behind the wheel as a known drug
user. Her passenger seat is littered with hypodermic syringes and
pills and she demonstrates obvious signs of impairment.

She's charged with drug-impaired driving and later
convicted.

But most cases of drugged drivers don't come complete with a seat full
of evidence and law enforcement officials don't have the same kind of
authority they do with drunk drivers.

There's no roadside screening devices to check for drug use; officers
can't demand a blood, urine or other sample for testing. A 12-step
process to determine what drugs a person has taken and assess their
level of impairment is only voluntary with no legal recourse if the
suspect says no.

By spring, police from across Canada hope things will
change.

Federal Conservative legislation cracking down on drug-impaired
drivers is on the table and would see not only harsher penalties for
those convicted but give police the legal teeth to detect, apprehend
and help build stronger cases.

"The prevalence of drugs and impaired driving by drugs, I think
there's just as much out on the road as driver's impaired by alcohol,"
said Easter.

If it's passed as law, new legislation would give police the authority
to demand bodily fluid samples from drugged drivers and make it
mandatory for suspects to undergo a rigorous assessment process.

"It will make it so that we have another tool on our belt to help stop
drug-impaired driving," said Easter.

Easter, along with Const. Marco Pagliericci, are Drug Recognition
Experts (DRE) in training and have been taught to perform clinical,
psycho-physical and toxicological tests to determine what kind of drug
a person has taken as well as their level of impairment.

"This program is a nationwide effort to deter impaired driving by
increasing the likelihood that people who drive under the influence of
drugs will be detected, caught, convicted and punished," said Easter.

The drug recognition program was originally developed by the Los
Angeles Police Department and officers learn to distinguish between
seven drug categories - central nervous system depressants, inhalants,
dissociative anesthetics, cannabis, CNS stimulants, hallucinogens and
narcotic analgesics - through a series of tests.

Easter says the 12-step process includes clinical tests such as
checking pupil dilation, reaction to light, taking blood pressure,
body temperature and pulse rates.

"There are clinical symptoms a person cannot mask," he said. "For
example, when you're impaired certain drugs will cause nystagmus," an
involuntary jerking of the eyes.

Lowered or elevated pulse rates and blood pressure as well as
diminished muscle tones are also symptoms that can't be disguised.

In someone who's taken heroin, Easter notes their pulse, blood
pressure and body temperature will be down and their muscle tone
flaccid, versus someone on cocaine who would have an elevated pulse
rate, higher than normal blood pressure, elevated body temperature and
rigid muscles.

Other tests include touching a finger to the nose and walking a
straight line. In the "divided attention" tests, the suspect is given
simple but specific instructions to follow.

Suspects are also assessed during an interview process and checked for
physical signs of drug use in nasal and oral passages. Police look for
track marks and needle injection sites and will eventually collect
blood or urine samples for lab analysis.

But since many drug users mix and match their poisons, Easter has been
trained to look at the big picture to build a case.

"We're looking for the totality," he said. "We're not looking at any
one thing. It's the totality of everything we look at.

"I cannot base my opinion on any one of these steps. I have to look at
everything as a whole."

Easter points out drug impairment behind the wheel is not only caused
by the use of illicit street drugs, but also the abuse or misuse of
prescription medications.

"It's important for people to consult with their physician regarding
their prescription medications and how it may affect their ability to
safely operate a motor vehicle," he said.