GARDAI TO CONSIDER DRUG TEST BREATHALYSER

Gardai are considering using a cannabis-sensitive breathalyser test to
catch the growing number of people driving while high.

The head of the Garda Traffic Policy Bureau, Chief Supt John O'Brien, said
they are considering the latest research on drug-specific breathalysers,
that would catch drivers who were under the influence of the soft drug
here.

There is a problem with people driving when they are on drugs, mostly
cannabis, but in some cases ecstasy or cocaine.

They can often avoid being caught even though they are a major accident
risk, because gardai can only stop drivers if they are driving in a
suspicious manner.

All the latest research on drug-testing is being examined with a view to
eventually introducing a dope-driving offence in Ireland.

"People are driving while on cannabis.

"That is happening but it would be impossible for us to quantify the level
of the problem at the moment," Chief Supt O'Brien said.

"At the moment there is no specific test for cannabis, cocaine or ecstasy
use by a driver.

"However, existing legislation allows the gardai to arrest someone whom
they deem unfit to drive due to the consumption of an intoxicant.

"An intoxicant can be either drugs or alcohol so if someone fails a
breathalyser test but exhibits signs of drunkenness they could be arrested
and subjected to a blood test for drugs," Supt O'Brien said.

In practice this rarely happens, however, and gardai are anxious to
introduce a specific breathalyser test for cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy.

"There are a couple of tests around in other police forces that test for a
variety of drugs but one of the faults with the equipment is that drugs are
not generic.

"Cannabis is different from cocaine which is different from ecstasy. So you
would have to use several tests," Supt O'Brien said.

"Most police forces that have drug testing provisions have quite a number
of them and they are quite expensive.

"The big problem is the test is not generic. People driving while on drugs
goes on here but the problem comes in detecting them.

"A lot of research is going on all around us into developing a new test at
the moment and I would definitely see us as being part of that in the
future," the head of the Traffic Policy Bureau added.