DRUG IMPAIRED DRIVING GOOD FOR NO ONE

A new rule that allows police officers to suspend the licences of
suspected drug-impaired drivers for 90 days is a good step in keeping
Alberta's roads and streets safe.

The Alberta Administrative Licence Suspension program (AALS) already
imposes a minimum three-month suspension or disqualification on
drivers who are charged with driving with a blood alcohol level
greater than 80 mg per cent or refusing to provide either a breath or
blood sample.

Now the same program has been expanded to apply to motorists suspected
of being impaired by drugs.

In the past a police officer who suspected a driver was drug impaired
could only request voluntary testing, leaving officers with little
chance of pursuing a conviction on the basis of drug-impaired driving.

Last year the federal government established parity between drug and
alcohol-impaired driving offences for the first time in Canada through
Bill C-2. Now amendments have been made to the provincial Traffic
Safety Act to allow the AALS program to suspend individuals driving
while impaired by drugs, ensuring the law is applied equally to
individuals charged with either alcohol or drug-driving offences.

Yet while this change provides for the temporary suspension of a
person's licence for suspected stoned driving, a major gap in the area
of policing of drug-impaired motor vehicle operation remains.

In the case of drunk driving, there is an accepted standard that is
used by police and the courts to determine if a person has too much
alcohol in his or her bloodstream. Drive with a blood alcohol level
greater than 80 mg per cent and you can be charged and convicted.

On the other hand, in the case of drugs such as marijuana, no
nationally accepted standards are in place. That is, there is
presently no accepted test that says if a person has this much THC
(the active ingredient in marijuana) is his or her blood, he or she is
impaired. Whether such standards can or will ever be settled upon
remains squarely in the hands of Canada's lawmakers.

Nevertheless, this new 90-day suspension program will hopefully make
more drivers think twice about climbing behind the wheel when they are
stoned on drugs.

As the case with alcohol impaired driving has shown time and again,
the best and most effective way to avoid accidents and the carnage
they leave behind is to stop them at the source, with the driver.

RCMP and other police forces already have their hands full dealing
with selfish and criminal motorists who drive drunk. So if you're
going to get stoned, just do everyone a big favour and don't drive.