ED PUTS WEED BEHIND THE WHEEL

Dan Bui is messed up. He can only mumble incoherently, and every now and
then someone has to rush for a trash can when it looks like he's about to
hurl. Yet in spite of suffering the awful results of being a drug education
guinea pig, the 23-year-old soldiers on with a test of his drugged-driving
skills.

With the buzz around proposed legislation to decriminalize marijuana, Ed
figured it was a good time to probe the controversial issue of drugged
driving. Some say it's not an issue at all, while law enforcement agencies
and anti-drunk-driving groups fear legalization will spark an epidemic of
drug-impaired drivers.

Bui, a marketing student, is one of two volunteers enlisted to smoke up
before being evaluated by researchers from Edmonton's DriveABLE assessment
centre. The centre originally developed its computer-based driving program
to analyse medically at-risk drivers, such as those affected by brain
injuries, Alzheimer's disease, heart conditions or psychiatric disorders.
But DriveABLE agreed to lend its services for our experiment, which is by
no means a scientifically sound undertaking.

First, a little background on our test subjects: Bui has a clean driving
record and is practically a weed virgin. He only smoked the stuff once
several years ago. On this particular day, before inhaling three-quarters
of a joint, Bui says his friends who toke up and drive claim the drug
"makes the experience better. They say, 'Driving is cool when you're high,
it's an awesome feeling.' But it's not something that I'd try personally."

Test subject No. 2 is 23-year-old Chris Martin, a drummer for the local
band Jackdicky. Except for a couple of speeding tickets, Martin also has a
clean driving record. When it comes to hitting the bong, he estimates he
blazes two or three times a week.

"I've driven high," Martin admits. "But it's been a couple of hours since I
smoked it so I never smoke and then (drive right away)."

He questions whether drugged driving is a serious problem. "I don't think
you see many people getting into head-on collisions and stuff from smoking
a joint. I don't think you get really careless, I think you get more
attentive."

In fact, after smoking an entire joint, Martin appears alert and
comprehending during testing. For an hour, DriveABLE's Laura Morgensen runs
him through a series of tasks ranging from tapping the computer screen when
certain shapes appear, to making snap decisions about 10 video clips
depicting unsafe driving situations.

The company's general manager and research co-coordinator, Barb Carstensen,
says the tests are "highly correlated with actual on-road performance." The
exams assess crucial skills like visual awareness, attention and
decision-making abilities. Carstensen stresses the trials are "very
sensitive to changes in (a subject's) mental abilities."

Not surprisingly, considering his state, Bui does terribly. In one exercise
designed to simulate lane-changing, he crashes into car after car. When he
slumps over in his seat for the third time, Morgensen is clearly unsure
whether to continue, saying, "Oh dear. Dan, are you OK? Dan? Dan? Can you
please touch the screen? Dan?"

After Martin and Bui are finished, the computer calculates their results.
Their performances are compared to validated, empirical evidence of how
healthy, normal drivers their age would do. A sober 23-year-old with no
medical issues should only score a one-per-cent probability of failing a
real road test. Martin scores 28 per cent. Bui comes in at 58 per cent.

A further breakdown shows Martin was in the normal range for motor speed
and control, as well as complex judgment. However, he crashed in the
categories of component driving abilities and attention shifting. Bui
failed miserably in most categories but also scored in the normal range for
motor speed and control.

Dr. David Cook, a University of Alberta pharmacologist, says it's hard to
say whether our experiment proves anything. While there's indisputable
evidence of alcohol causing "driving behaviour that is both uncoordinated
and risky," Cook says test subjects influenced by cannabis can "summon up
the ability to perform reasonably well." Research also shows marijuana
tends to produce a cautious response in people, skewing objective results
and leaving no guarantee of how a pothead will perform on the road once the
pressures of a testing situation are removed.

However, police say there's no question about the dangers of drugged
driving. As head of the Edmonton Police Service's Alcohol and Breath
Testing Unit, Const. Conrad Moschansky says drugged driving is "a big
problem" law enforcement is just beginning to tackle.

Moschansky is one of only 30 officers in the country trained to perform
drug recognition evaluations, or DRE, in roadside checkstop situations.
Moschansky says nailing a drunk driver is easy enough with a breathalyser
test. However, with no similar test for dope, figuring out if a driver is
high on illegal or prescription drugs is much harder to prove.

"We're waiting for legislation to change so we can use (drug recognition
evaluations) more readily on the street," he says. Currently, unlike
alcohol, there's no legal limit on drug use while driving since no one can
agree upon a level that causes impairment.

With marijuana, Moschansky says the stink is usually the big giveaway.
Plus, the drug's effect on a user's eyes can't always be hidden with a few
drops of Visine.

"I don't care about redness," explains Moschansky. "I'm checking for
dilation, contraction (of the pupils), and how the eyes react to different
lighting situations."

Moschansky says when he suspects a driver is high, he performs the steps on
the DRE checklist to confirm his hunch. "I'm going to take the pulse of
this person, I'm going to check their blood pressure. I'm going to check
the rigidity of their muscles, and their body temperature as well."

The veteran officer claims today's weed is 300 times stronger than pot
grown 30 years ago -- he says he knows of crackheads who won't touch the stuff.

Moschansky is frustrated by the public's generally laid-back attitude about
drugged driving, "I don't think the message is out there strong enough that
marijuana can impair you and makes you just as dangerous or more dangerous
than drinking and driving."

When asked what demographic of drivers are the worst offenders, Moschansky
tells a surprising story about pulling over a 44-year-old who was smoking
up with his two teenage boys. "So do we have to just teach the kids? No. We
have to teach the old guys too."

As for how our two test subjects rated their performances once the highs
wore off, Chris Martin was pretty impressed with his results.

"I think I did very well considering how high I was," he shrugs. "But
driving under any influence, no matter what the substance, isn't a good idea."

Bui agrees. Edmonton's new poster boy for the anti-drug movement sheepishly
concedes, "I got my ass taken to school by weed. I don't even remember how
I did in the test. It felt like I wasn't in control. If somebody who reacts
the way I do (to weed) steps behind the wheel ... they're asking for it.
They're dead."