MOTORISTS COULD FACE DRUG TESTS

County Council OKs Legislation for Police to Check for Cocaine in Blood of
Drivers

The Summit County Council adopted legislation Monday that will result
in the first law in Ohio to target drugged drivers as well as drunken
ones.

The law will allow the prosecution of an impaired driver under the
influence of any form of cocaine. It allows officers to test drivers
for traces of cocaine in the bloodstream.

The Summit County Council can establish laws because it is a charter
county. It only needs the signature of Summit County Executive James
B. McCarthy, who supports it, to make it legal.

Now when police officers stop someone they suspect is driving under
the influence, they can test for alcohol with a breath-analysis
machine. If the tests show up with no alcohol levels, they can take an
additional step to draw blood to check for cocaine residuals. The
person arrested would be taken to a hospital where the testing would
be done.

"In the past, it was difficult to find out whether a person was under
the influence of some form of cocaine and it was difficult to do
anything about it when they did find out," said Councilman-at-large
Paul Gallagher, who came up with the idea.

Like the breath test for alcohol, there are two ways to prove a driver
is impaired, he said.

"The easy way is to use the test, or the hard way is to examine
driving patterns and behaviors and depend on admissions of guilt,"
Gallagher said. "In the area of driving under the influence of
cocaine, police officers only had one option -- the hard way."

Gallagher's legislation does not change any penalties. The punishment
for an alcohol-related conviction would be identical for a
drug-related conviction. The same consequences would apply if a person
refuses to give a blood sample -- license suspension for a year.

If blood is drawn over the legal limit, the person is charged and
easily convicted. The test results provide the proof, which cuts out
the need to bring in experts to testify in court.

What is the legal limit? The new law says the person has a
concentration of 50 nanograms or more by weight of cocaine in the
blood or the person has a concentration of 100 nanograms or more by
weight of benzoylecgonine (a cocaine metabolite) in the blood.

The Summit County Medical Examiner's Office will run the analysis of
the blood samples and promise a speedy turnaround. If law enforcement
agencies don't have a blood-testing kit, the medical examiner's office
will provide one to whatever agency would like them.

Council members lauded Gallagher for his hard work in getting the
measure passed. It was on the table for six months and had the support
of law enforcement officials. It passed unanimously.

Gallagher said the new law is only half of what he would like to see
go into effect. His original driving under the influence law included
blood tests for the use of marijuana, but there were unique factors
that stopped it. Scientists could not agree on what level of marijuana
in the bloodstream constitutes impairment.

"You can talk to 10 different toxicologists and can get 10 different
opinions," Gallagher said. "The other thing is the recency of use.
You can't prove the last time marijuana was used, because it stays in
your system for several months."