Toking and driving: The secret peril

Report calls for education programs to tackle issue

By ZEN RURYK, CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF

The prevalent use of pot has sparked the authors of a new report on
drug use in Toronto to raise the red flag about smoking and driving.

The 11th annual report from the Research Group on Drugs says that 14%
of Toronto adults smoked cannabis in 2000.

A survey conducted in 2001 found that 23% of junior high and high
school students smoked weed or other forms of cannabis.

"The relatively high levels of marijuana use raise concerns with
respect to driving under the influence of the drug," the report says.

"The use of designated drivers for marijuana smokers is rarely
promoted in schools or the general public since, from a policy
perspective, it is difficult to propose safety guidelines for the use
of an illegal substance."

The membership of the group which prepared the report includes
representatives from the Toronto health department, Toronto Police,
the RCMP and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

DECRIMINALIZE

The report was compiled using information from a number of
studies.

Joyce Bernstein, an epidemiologist with the Toronto health department,
said that decriminalizing marijuana would make it possible to embark
on education programs like the ones in place to discourage drunk driving.

"You cannot get someone in a school to say, 'If you're stoned, don't
get behind the wheel,' " she added. "They're not suppose to
acknowledge that anyone even does smoke. Whereas with alcohol, there's
a different attitude because it's technically legal. It's not really
legal for most of the students that they speak to, but there's just a
different attitude."

The report also says:

- - Crack continues to be favoured among the 15,000 Torontonians who
inject drugs.

- - About 5% of junior high and high school students reported sniffing
glue, while 9% used other solvents such as gas and nail polish to get
high. That's up from the 1% to 2% who reported using the substances in
the early 1990s.

- - About 3% of adults and 6% of students reported using Ecstasy.