DRIVING TESTS FOR POT USE NEEDED BEFORE LEGALIZING

Canadians are being asked to pass judgment on the Senate committee's
recommendations to legalize marijuana without full consideration being
given to the fact there are no known "roadside" tests that law enforcement
officers can use at present to determine if a driver is under the influence
of this substance, as is the case with alcohol.

Until those tools are provided, this proposal is "premature." Proponents of
legalization will not raise it. Those opposing it may well have other bases
of disagreement.

The challenge here is that the media take a practical look of the effect of
those 16 and older having unlimited access to a mood modifier that may
create as much carnage on the highways as would unregulated use of alcohol.

"Years ago, they didn't have the .08 level to work with, either, but they
worked at it and it became accepted," Greg Thomson has said.

"There has got to be a way, or someone should come up with a way, of
testing marijuana levels that can be proven in court."

Thomson's son, along with four others, died in a crash where marijuana,
rather than alcohol, was deemed a causal factor.

Details are available at
http://www.friendlystranger.com/info/recreational/potanddriving.htm.

Guilty until proven innocent must be the norm applied to full acceptance of
a new intoxicant into our society.

Yet this aspect of its effect has not been considered.

Jack Davies

Tillsonburg