CRACKDOWN ON DRUG-IMPAIRED DRIVERS

The timing could have been better for Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

In the midst of National Addictions Awareness Week, his Conservative
government has introduced legislation that will target drivers who
get behind the wheel while stoned on drugs. The proposed legislation,
tabled on Tuesday, aims to make drug-impaired driving as socially
unacceptable as drunk driving has become, says the prime minister.

Under the Tory bill, the minimum fine for a first offence of either
drug-or alcohol-impaired driving would be $1,000 rather than the
current $600. A second offence would bring a mandatory 30 days behind
bars rather than 14, and a third offence would result in a 120-day
jail sentence instead of the current 90.

The legislation also creates a new offence of being in care and
control of a vehicle while in possession of an illicit drug, such as
marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine -- something like driving with
an open bottle of beer.

The penalty would be a mandatory six-month driving ban, in addition
to jail time that could run up to five years.

The Tories' proposal also sets out a series of procedures police must
follow in assessing drug impairment.

The first step is a preliminary roadside test of the familiar
touch-your-nose or walk-the-line variety. If a driver fails that, the
next step is examination at the RCMP detachment by an officer trained
to recognize signs of drug use. Only after that could police finally
demand a sample of bodily fluids such as blood, urine or saliva.

While Justice Minister Vic Toews has admitted the core of the
Conservatives' bill -- setting out the legal steps police forces must
follow to prove drug impairment -- is taken straight from legislation
put forward by the previous Liberal government, Harper's Tories are
going a step further by boosting the penalties upon conviction.

It is a tough stance, but one that is definitely needed to discourage
kids and adults from driving after smoking pot, ingesting cocaine or
taking crystal meth.

According to a 2005 Addictions Foundation of Manitoba survey, 43.3
per cent of Grade 12 students who were asked said they had used
marijuana during the previous year. The survey also showed 26.5 per
cent had used other drugs in 2004. When it comes to drugs and
driving, the poll results showed in 2004, almost 23 per cent of male
Grade 12 students had gotten behind the wheel after smoking
marijuana. The figures are not much better for girls. Just over 18
per cent of female Grade 12 students said they drove after using pot.

It is obvious from those statistics drug use poses a real danger on
the roads throughout this province and country.

While drugs, and particularly cannabis, erode a different set of
skills among drivers than alcohol, they are still potentially lethal.
A person who is impaired by marijuana, cocaine or crystal meth is as
much a risk to other motorists as somebody who is above the legal
alcohol limit.

With their tough legislation, the Tories are sending a strong and
clear message to all Canadians -- they will pay a hefty price for
drug-impaired driving. It is a message that should not be ignored.