EXPERTS CONCERNED ABOUT 'DRUG DRIVING'

Just before Christmas, a woman who says she was taking only the
prescribed dose of her pain killer and anti-anxiety medication
blacked out as she was driving to the grocery store.

She lost control of her SUV and caused a crash that killed Natasha
Ruth, 69, according to Rio Rancho police.

DWI activists and police say the crash illustrates a driving problem
that is overshadowed by attention to alcohol and driving, but can be
equally tragic.

Instead of "drunk driving," they call it "drug driving."

"With the drugs that are out there, reading the side effects and
thinking they are doing everything right is not enough," said Linda
Atkinson, executive director of the DWI Resource Center.

To help fight the behavior, the family of Natasha Ruth has mobilized
a portion of its family Web site, www.deluxteam.com, with pictures of
Ruth and the crash.

New Mexico law does not differentiate between impairment from
alcohol, legal narcotics or appropriately used prescription drugs.

"Impairment means impairment," said Franklin Garcia, program director
for the state Traffic Safety Bureau.

His agency tracked 34 crash deaths in 2003 and 24 deaths in 2004
statewide in which the driver had some sort of narcotics, legal or
illegal, in their blood. The statistics did not note if more than one
drug or alcohol was present.

In 2005, alcohol-related traffic deaths numbered 16.

"The impaired driver is killing New Mexico," said Albuquerque Police
Lt. Conrad Murray.

He is in charge statewide of training law enforcement agents to
recognize drugs' effects on the body. APD has about 20 officers
certified as experts in detecting signs of drug impairment.

"When you are booking drunks, you can see them, you can hear them and
you can smell them," Murray said.

But drug impairment isn't always obvious to police - or the driver.

"You've got the elderly person who, for all of their ailments and all
of their stuff, they are prescribed lots of medication," Murray said.
"Overall, when you've got somebody who is taking a series of
medication, the combination of those things can be dangerous."

And long-time regimens or a dose of a long-trusted medicine can
suddenly turn bad, says Kirk Cumpston, medical director for the New
Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center.

The center, based at the University of New Mexico Hospital, runs a
hot line for medical and poison questions.

Cumpston said the hot line has received reports of people dying
simply from overdosing on acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol.

"It does seem like people don't realize" the potential effect of
drugs on their driving, Cumpston said. "It's not necessarily
intentional. When someone is in pain, I believe they will do whatever
they can to get rid of it."

Murray uses three examples of drug driving to show the potential for
deadly accidents.

He says that last month, officers in another county were called to
check on a man in a truck on the side of the road.

"I'm just reading his tox(icology) report and this guy was impaired,"
Murray said.

The man was on an anti-seizure drug to help ease back injury pain, an
anti-depressant over his concern for not being able to work, and
another medication, Murray.

The man pulled his truck to the side of the road where he sat in a
daze, Murray said.

"A World War II vet, who has cancer and large amounts of narcotic
analgesic to help with the chemotheraphy pain, should he be driving?"
Murry asks.

No he shouldn't, according to Murray, though the community should be
more compassionate with him than with the next example, Murray says.

"You've got a guy, a poly-drug user (more than one drug at a time)
who knows just how much to drink so he doesn't register," Murray said.

The man snorts cocaine and drinks alcohol, a combination that
produces a longer-lasting high through a by-product called cocaethylene.

"These people know what they are doing," Murray said.

But with the nationally recognized training to become a drug
recognition expert, about 20 officers on APD's force now know more
than the poly-drug users do.

Some of the drug experts serve in the department's traffic unit, but
not all of the DWI officers or the traffic officers have the
certification or extra knowledge to catch someone for driving while on drugs.

Metro Capt. Mike Castro, in charge of the traffic and DWI units, said
he would like all of his officers to have the expertise, but the
training is intense and other departmental goals are taking center
stage, he said.

"We're looking at it for the future, (and) maybe this year start with
a few more," Castro said.

DRIVING DANGERS To learn about the danger of driving on the drugs
prescribed to you, call the New Mexico Poison and Drug Information
Center at (800) 222-1222