BILL URGES FIGHTING DRUGGED DRIVING

Portman Proposes Zero-Tolerance Rule

WASHINGTON - Citing a list of Cincinnati car accidents in which drugs
were involved, Rep. Rob Portman introduced legislation Thursday that
would help police crack down on people driving while on drugs.

Police have no instant test, as they do with alcohol, to detect
illegal drugs. Most states, including Ohio, have no set blood-level
standards for drugs comparable to the 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level.

"It is time to combat the problem of drug-impaired drivers in the same
way we have dealt with drunk drivers," Portman said at an afternoon
news conference flanked by Ohio state troopers, Ohio first lady Hope
Taft, and several Democratic backers of the bill.

"Bottom line, it will save lives," said Rep. Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., a
recovering alcoholic.

The Drug Impaired Driving Enforcement Act would encourage states to
adopt a national model law for drug-impaired driving. The level
considered impaired would be any level greater than zero.

That means that anyone with a detectable level of illegal drugs would
be considered impaired.

But Keith Stroup, founder of a pro-marijuana group, said the law would
ensnare marijuana smokers who may not have smoked for days and aren't
endangering anyone on the road.

A regular smoker, someone who may smoke every weekend, could test
positive weeks later.

"There's not a scientist in the world who believes you're impaired at
that point," said Stroup, executive director of the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "You're not throwing
out a net that's simply going to catch impaired drivers. You're going
to catch all marijuana smokers."

Part of Portman's bill would pay for research to come up with better
tests. Right now, police can collect blood, saliva or urine. But that
must be sent to a lab.

Taft said Ohio high school students know it's easier to detect
alcohol, and that's one reason marijuana has become more popular. She
cited a Franklin County survey of high schoolers that showed 19
percent of seniors said they had driven high in the previous year.

Setting a level of zero would make it easier for police to prove in
court that someone was impaired, said Col. Paul McClellan of the Ohio
State Highway Patrol.

Rather than having to prove that the drugs caused the erratic driving,
any detectable amount of drugs would be proof enough.

"Drugged driving is a much more prevalent problem than the public
realizes," said McClellan, a former Batavia-based trooper.

The bill would cost taxpayers about $800,000 a year. That money would
go toward researching better ways of detecting drugs, training police,
and providing counseling and treatment for people prosecuted.

The bill, which the Bush administration backs, has a fairly good
chance of passage, both Portman and chief Democratic sponsor Rep.
Sander Levin of Michigan said.

While the liquor and restaurant industries fought a national 0.08
percent standard for alcohol, this bill has almost no organized opposition.

Unlike that bill, states would not be penalized for failing to adopt a
zero-standard law for drugs, but would be rewarded if they do.

"This is more carrot than stick," Portman said. "This is not only
bipartisan but doable."