ALCOHOL A BIGGER FACTOR THAN DRUG USE IN ACCIDENTS

The caller -- who neglected to leave his name -- was pretty adamant about
the influence alcohol played in vehicle crashes in Michigan. It was his
contention that drugs played just as big a part, if you not bigger, than
alcohol.

The caller said that there were no statistics available to compare and
contrast drug and drunken driving and that the Michigan State Police
usually blended drug and drunken driving into the same statistics. And he
was right ... but only up to a point.

Sgt. Bob Betzing of the alcohol enforcement section of the Michigan State
Police, confirmed that there are no statistics available on driving under
the influence of drugs, and that in some cases, drug abuse while driving is
blended into drunken driving statistics.

But Betzing was adamant that alcohol, and not drugs, is by far the No. 1
killer on our roads today.

"Alcohol is a much bigger problem out there than drugs," Betzing said.

"For one thing, the availability of alcohol is much easier than drugs.
There's a lot of drugs out there, but it's not in the same ballpark as
alcohol."

Betzing said some of the drug and alcohol charges are folded into the same
report.

"If a person is using drugs and alcohol, basically the charge will be for
alcohol if they're over the legal limit," Betzing said.

"But if they have all the indications of alcohol intoxication, but nothing
comes up on the preliminary breath test, we will request a drug test and
charge them with operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs."

According to Betzing, there is no quick and easy test for drugs for
officers out on the road.

"It's a lot more complicated," Betzing said.

"The normal procedure is to pull someone over if they're driving badly and
test them for alcohol. If no alcohol is present, but their driving matches
that of a drunk driver, we'll request a blood test.

"Under our implied consent law, they must agree to the test or lose their
license."

Betzing said the state police will begin to keep separate statistics on
drug and alcohol abuse among drivers starting in 2000.

Once a blood sample has been taken, it's turned over to the state police
laboratory for testing, according to state police toxicologist Felix Adatsi.

"Basically, we see two different groups of drugs in the blood we test,"
Adatsi said.

"Drugs of abuse and prescription drugs. The No. 1 drug of abuse is
marijuana, then cocaine. The No. 1 drug of abuse in both Wayne and Genesee
counties is cocaine. Now and then, we see morphine and methadone.

"Methadone is unusual in that it crosses the line both as a drug of abuse
and as a prescription drug."

Adatsi said that a group of drugs known as benzodiazepines makes up the
majority of drugs seen for prescription abuse.

"This is a class of prescription drugs that are depressants that affect the
central nervous system," Adatsi said. "As a class, they reduce stress and
anxiety and have a calming effect on the individual as well as relaxing the
muscles."

Drugs in the benzodiazepine category include Valium, Xanax, Ativan and
Librium.

"We also see other prescription drugs such as Soma, Prozac and Zoloft,"
Adatsi said. "These also reduce stress and act as muscle relaxants."

After the benzodiazepine, Adatsi's tests turn up opiates, such as Tylenol
with codeine and morphine. Then comes cough syrups.

"As you can imagine, these drugs have a serious effect on a person's
ability to safely operate a motor vehicle," Adatsi said. "People should be
aware of this before they get behind the wheel."