LAWMAKERS TARGET DRIVERS HIGH ON DRUGS

Impaired drivers could face harsher penalties under two bills in the
state Legislature that would allow prosecutors to level the playing
field between drunken drivers and drivers who have taken illegal drugs.

"This highlights the fact that Wisconsin does not have laws that allow
officials to prosecute those who get behind the wheel high on illegal
drugs," said state Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, who introduced the
Assembly bill. "It doesn't make sense that drugged drivers receive a
minimum sentence and drunk drivers receive a harsher punishment." The
two bills, one in the Assembly and one in the Senate, prohibit drivers
from having any detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance
in their bodies, regardless of whether it impaired their ability to
operate a vehicle.

A driver who tests positive for illegal drugs can now defend himself
by claiming presence of the drug did not affect his ability to drive.

This creates a problem for prosecutors. With alcohol, a jury can
convict without proof that an individual above the 0.08 percent limit
was impaired. However, impairment must be proven in a drug case.

"Usually it's easy to show they were probably impaired, but it's
difficult to prove," said Thomas Eagon, Portage County district
attorney. "It's a higher burden of proof. You have to bring in an
expert witness to testify about the drug involved and the effect of
the drug on the human body and how that affects their ability to
drive." When drivers who have used illegal drugs are apprehended, they
will be subject to a test that showed if drugs were consumed in the
past 24 hours, Suder said.

"This bill allows law enforcement to use an immediate test," he said.
"If they smoked (marijuana or other illegal drugs) two weeks ago, that
wouldn't show up." Two Wausau police officers already are trained in a
45-minute, 12-step test that can evaluate the drugs a driver has used,
including over-the-counter medications, and how it affects his
judgment. Ben Bliven and Matt Barnes are two of 90 police officers in
the state and the only in Marathon County trained as drug recognition
experts. They use the evaluation after a traffic stop or during a
crash investigation to record signs that a person's driving was
impaired by drugs.

The bills being considered stem from a traffic crash involving a
driver high on cocaine. The impaired driver ran a red light and struck
a pregnant woman, who lost her baby as a result of the crash. In honor
of that child, the bill is also known as the Baby Luke Law, Suder said.

With a new law in place, drivers using drugs might not slip through
the system.

The Assembly bill has passed, and the Senate bill should be scheduled
for a vote sometime before December, according Suder's office.