NUMBERS HAVE INCREASED, BUT LITTLE CAN BE DONE

City Police Vs. Stoned Drivers

A lack of tools leaves Belleville police officers virtually
weaponless to battle motorists under the influence of marijuana,
local police say.

Insp. Merle Foster said the number of people driving while under the
influence of marijuana has increased over the past few years but
officers' hands are tied when it comes to proving it. Without blood
tests or finding the drug inside the vehicle, there is little an
officer can do.

"We know it's there for sure but it's almost impossible .... Well,
look at the difficulty we have proving someone's under the influence
of alcohol," Foster said.

Foster said the difficulty in proving someone is under the influence
of marijuana hinders officers from being able to press charges. He
said when you consider how many people use marijuana, there can be no
doubt these individuals are getting behind the wheel after smoking.

A recent study issued by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse backs
up Foster's claim - it shows the number of drivers operating a
vehicle while under the influence of cannabis and hashish has doubled
since 1989. Of 4,639 Canadians questioned for the 2004 Canadian
Addiction Survey, 4.8 per cent reported driving within two hours of
using cannabis.

Brooke Bryce, communications advisor for the centre, said it is
primarily younger drivers who are committing the offence.

"It's most often young males between 16 and 19 and they're doing it,
on average, 24.5 times a year," she said.

Foster said an increase in marijuana impaired drivers should be a
concern for motorists because of the impact the drug has on their
ability to drive. It is not that much different than alcohol, he said.

"It affects their motor skills."

Foster said it is hard to prove a driver has used marijuana but did
say "it's suspected, absolutely. Can I back it up with stats? No, I can't."

Foster said for charges to be laid, a motorist almost has to be found
with the drug. Testing for alcohol impairment takes a simple
breathalyzer but marijuana is a different issue, he said.

"It's out there. It's happening and we need more tools to apprehend
the people who are doing it. Give us a little more authority to do
blood tests and then we can get it out of them."

Police in Canada do have the ability to use the Drug Recognition
Expert Program - a 12-step program used to assess the level of
impairment of any drug - but it is not mandatory for drivers to
submit to the test, unlike a roadside breathalyzer.

Bryce said the program is not well known.

"Right now, that program is not very wide spread and participation in
that program is voluntary."

The survey results come just a month after the federal Conservative
government tabled legislation to crack down on drug-impaired drivers
with heavier fines and jail terms.

The plan - first advanced by the former Liberal government-will also
make it harder to challenge breathalyzer tests in court for those who
get behind the wheel while high on marijuana, cocaine,
methamphetamine or a variety of other drugs.

Canada has done a "really, really good job" of battling impaired
driving due to alcohol, Bryce said, and it has now come time to put
the same type of a concerted effort into impaired driving due to
drugs and narcotics.