DRIVING HIGH ON DRUGS

Harper Targets Motorists Under the Influence

The Prime Minister is setting his sights on drivers who are high on
drugs when they get behind the wheel.

Stephen Harper announced legislation to give police powerful new
tools in their search for impaired motorists.

"Just as governments once took action on drunk driving, we must act
today to make drug-impaired driving just as socially unacceptable,"
Harper said, accompanied at a news conference by beaming members of
the lobby group Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada.

The Opposition Liberals dismissed the announcement as a hypocritical
photo-op, noting that the Tories recently announced $4 million in
cuts to the RCMP's budget for drug-impaired detection training.

Harper said the RCMP program simply wasn't working.

The legislation will also increase penalties and "strengthen
presumptions" of breath and blood tests -- though suitable tests for
drug impairment, apart from blood tests, aren't available in Canada.

"There are ways of strengthening the legislation to make it easier to
arrest and get convictions for clear cases" of driving under the
influence of drugs, Harper said.