TOKER SMOKED BY IMPAIRED RAP

IN WHAT could be a test case for Canada, a former local lawyer who is
permitted to smoke pot for medicinal reasons is going to court to
fight an impaired driving charge.

Rick Reimer was smoking a joint when he was pulled over by OPP for
crossing the median line while driving from Killaloe to Pembroke.

Reimer, a retired lawyer who suffers from multiple sclerosis, has
been granted a Health Canada exemption from prosecution. The Barry's
Bay resident claims weed helps, rather than hampers, his driving
ability.

"It's absolutely bogus," he said of the Feb. 11 charge by Killaloe
OPP. "The cops are just used to a knee-jerk reaction. I know I drive
as well, if not better, after I have smoked."

Reimer will appear in court on April 24 to set a date for trial.

Reimer has been occasionally driving stoned since 1968, and doing it
regularly since 1998. His Health Canada exemption guidelines warn of
harmful effects and possible criminal charges from using a controlled
substance before driving or operating machinery, but do not prohibit
it.

He was smoking a joint at the time, and did not extinguish it after
he was pulled over. An activist for the legalization of marijuana,
Reimer does not intend to dispute the fact he was smoking, and hopes
his case will open more national debate on the issue.

TESTING TROUBLES

MADD Canada national director Andrew Murie says this is the first
time to his knowledge a person with a Health Canada exemption has
been charged with impaired driving.

"We've been waiting for it," he said. "The logic with some of them is
that the exemption gives them the legal right to do what they want.
It doesn't."

Driving by persons impaired by marijuana is a "huge problem" because
there aren't yet adequate measures for testing. Murie believes
federal legislation must deliver stronger wording on drug impairment,
and prescribe a driving ban for users of medicinal marijuana while on
the drug.

Ottawa Police Sgt. Rick Wilhelm said charges for drug driving
impairment are rare, because officers must rely on observation and
"unquantifiable" evidence rather than a breathalyzer as for alcohol.
But he maintains pot and driving are a dangerous mix.

"It impacts awareness of time and distance as much, if not more than
alcohol," he said.

Dr. Alison Smiley, an adjunct engineering professor at the University
of Toronto and president of consultancy firm Human Factors North
Inc., said studies have shown drivers impaired by marijuana tend to
be more cautious, where as drunk drivers show disregard for rules of
the road.

As a result, she said, drunk driving increases the risk of a crash,
while driving stoned could decrease the risk.