COPS WAGING WAR ON POTHEAD DRIVERS

TORONTO -- It may seem old school to make a driver stand on one leg for a
roadside sobriety test, but that is one of the best available methods
police have of determining whether or not someone is toking and driving.

Police believe the number of stoned drivers is increasing, but their
efforts to deal with the problem has been hampered by a lack of roadside tools.

But for the first time in Canada, there may be an effective solution.

Unable to use breathalysers, cops are now counting on training.

Cops across Canada are graduating as drug recognition experts, DREs, who
are able to detect those impaired by drugs with a series of tests.

A DRE officer has several tests for drivers to determine impairment:

- - An eye examination watching specific movements.

- - A pupil test that examines a driver's pupil size in four different light
levels.

- - Testing for muscle tone by lifting arms.

- - An attention test in which officers make motorists stand on one leg and
balance.

- - Vital signs tests through which blood pressure, body temperature and
pulse are determined.

"It's been an effective method and has worked quite well," said Insp. Kash
Heed in British Columbia where the first Canadian officers were trained.

There have been several convictions of impaired driving in Vancouver based
on evidence from DRE officers.

The Senate special committee on illegal drugs estimated that between 5% and
12% of motorists may drive under the influence of cannabis.