POT POWER TO POLICE: MADD

Drug-Impaired Drivers Also A Hazard, Warns National Boss

Mothers Against Drunk Drivers is calling for police to have more power to
nab impaired drivers if Canada relaxes marijuana laws.

"We have a lot of members that have lost family in drug-impaired crashes,"
MADD national president Louise Knox told The Sun yesterday.

Knox said a delegation from the organization was in Ottawa last week
meeting with politicians to discuss the federal government's plan to
decriminalize possession of small amounts of pot.

The Globe and Mail reported yesterday that draft legislation for the new
marijuana law will not make it illegal to drive while smoking pot. Police
will still be able to charge people with impaired driving for smoking pot
if they can gather enough evidence that the person is impaired, the report
said.

Knox said MADD is lobbying MPs to make it easier for police to gather
evidence when they suspect drivers are impaired by drugs. Currently, she
said, police can get saliva or urine samples from suspected impaired
drivers, but it can sometimes take several days before they can get legal
permission to do so.

"The burden of proof then comes back on the police officer," Knox said.

The federal government has said it plans to decriminalize possession of a
small amount of marijuana, which it considers to be 15 grams or less.
Instead of a criminal record, people caught with marijuana would face a fine.

Knox said surveys are showing more teens are using drugs before driving. A
2001 survey of Ontario teens showed that one in five admitted to driving
less than an hour after smoking hashish or marijuana.