Pubdate: Sat, 13 Dec 2003
Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB)
Copyright: 2003 The Edmonton Journal
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134
Author: Olivia Cheng, Freelance

ED PUTS WEED BEHIND THE WHEEL

Dan Bui is messed up. He can only mumble incoherently, and every now and 
then someone has to rush for a trash can when it looks like he's about to 
hurl. Yet in spite of suffering the awful results of being a drug education 
guinea pig, the 23-year-old soldiers on with a test of his drugged-driving 
skills.

With the buzz around proposed legislation to decriminalize marijuana, Ed 
figured it was a good time to probe the controversial issue of drugged 
driving. Some say it's not an issue at all, while law enforcement agencies 
and anti-drunk-driving groups fear legalization will spark an epidemic of 
drug-impaired drivers.

Bui, a marketing student, is one of two volunteers enlisted to smoke up 
before being evaluated by researchers from Edmonton's DriveABLE assessment 
centre. The centre originally developed its computer-based driving program 
to analyse medically at-risk drivers, such as those affected by brain 
injuries, Alzheimer's disease, heart conditions or psychiatric disorders. 
But DriveABLE agreed to lend its services for our experiment, which is by 
no means a scientifically sound undertaking.

First, a little background on our test subjects: Bui has a clean driving 
record and is practically a weed virgin. He only smoked the stuff once 
several years ago. On this particular day, before inhaling three-quarters 
of a joint, Bui says his friends who toke up and drive claim the drug 
"makes the experience better. They say, 'Driving is cool when you're high, 
it's an awesome feeling.' But it's not something that I'd try personally."

Test subject No. 2 is 23-year-old Chris Martin, a drummer for the local 
band Jackdicky. Except for a couple of speeding tickets, Martin also has a 
clean driving record. When it comes to hitting the bong, he estimates he 
blazes two or three times a week.

"I've driven high," Martin admits. "But it's been a couple of hours since I 
smoked it so I never smoke and then (drive right away)."

He questions whether drugged driving is a serious problem. "I don't think 
you see many people getting into head-on collisions and stuff from smoking 
a joint. I don't think you get really careless, I think you get more 
attentive."

In fact, after smoking an entire joint, Martin appears alert and 
comprehending during testing. For an hour, DriveABLE's Laura Morgensen runs 
him through a series of tasks ranging from tapping the computer screen when 
certain shapes appear, to making snap decisions about 10 video clips 
depicting unsafe driving situations.

The company's general manager and research co-coordinator, Barb Carstensen, 
says the tests are "highly correlated with actual on-road performance." The 
exams assess crucial skills like visual awareness, attention and 
decision-making abilities. Carstensen stresses the trials are "very 
sensitive to changes in (a subject's) mental abilities."

Not surprisingly, considering his state, Bui does terribly. In one exercise 
designed to simulate lane-changing, he crashes into car after car. When he 
slumps over in his seat for the third time, Morgensen is clearly unsure 
whether to continue, saying, "Oh dear. Dan, are you OK? Dan? Dan? Can you 
please touch the screen? Dan?"

After Martin and Bui are finished, the computer calculates their results. 
Their performances are compared to validated, empirical evidence of how 
healthy, normal drivers their age would do. A sober 23-year-old with no 
medical issues should only score a one-per-cent probability of failing a 
real road test. Martin scores 28 per cent. Bui comes in at 58 per cent.

A further breakdown shows Martin was in the normal range for motor speed 
and control, as well as complex judgment. However, he crashed in the 
categories of component driving abilities and attention shifting. Bui 
failed miserably in most categories but also scored in the normal range for 
motor speed and control.

Dr. David Cook, a University of Alberta pharmacologist, says it's hard to 
say whether our experiment proves anything. While there's indisputable 
evidence of alcohol causing "driving behaviour that is both uncoordinated 
and risky," Cook says test subjects influenced by cannabis can "summon up 
the ability to perform reasonably well." Research also shows marijuana 
tends to produce a cautious response in people, skewing objective results 
and leaving no guarantee of how a pothead will perform on the road once the 
pressures of a testing situation are removed.

However, police say there's no question about the dangers of drugged 
driving. As head of the Edmonton Police Service's Alcohol and Breath 
Testing Unit, Const. Conrad Moschansky says drugged driving is "a big 
problem" law enforcement is just beginning to tackle.

Moschansky is one of only 30 officers in the country trained to perform 
drug recognition evaluations, or DRE, in roadside checkstop situations. 
Moschansky says nailing a drunk driver is easy enough with a breathalyser 
test. However, with no similar test for dope, figuring out if a driver is 
high on illegal or prescription drugs is much harder to prove.

"We're waiting for legislation to change so we can use (drug recognition 
evaluations) more readily on the street," he says. Currently, unlike 
alcohol, there's no legal limit on drug use while driving since no one can 
agree upon a level that causes impairment.

With marijuana, Moschansky says the stink is usually the big giveaway. 
Plus, the drug's effect on a user's eyes can't always be hidden with a few 
drops of Visine.

"I don't care about redness," explains Moschansky. "I'm checking for 
dilation, contraction (of the pupils), and how the eyes react to different 
lighting situations."

Moschansky says when he suspects a driver is high, he performs the steps on 
the DRE checklist to confirm his hunch. "I'm going to take the pulse of 
this person, I'm going to check their blood pressure. I'm going to check 
the rigidity of their muscles, and their body temperature as well."

The veteran officer claims today's weed is 300 times stronger than pot 
grown 30 years ago -- he says he knows of crackheads who won't touch the stuff.

Moschansky is frustrated by the public's generally laid-back attitude about 
drugged driving, "I don't think the message is out there strong enough that 
marijuana can impair you and makes you just as dangerous or more dangerous 
than drinking and driving."

When asked what demographic of drivers are the worst offenders, Moschansky 
tells a surprising story about pulling over a 44-year-old who was smoking 
up with his two teenage boys. "So do we have to just teach the kids? No. We 
have to teach the old guys too."

As for how our two test subjects rated their performances once the highs 
wore off, Chris Martin was pretty impressed with his results.

"I think I did very well considering how high I was," he shrugs. "But 
driving under any influence, no matter what the substance, isn't a good idea."

Bui agrees. Edmonton's new poster boy for the anti-drug movement sheepishly 
concedes, "I got my ass taken to school by weed. I don't even remember how 
I did in the test. It felt like I wasn't in control. If somebody who reacts 
the way I do (to weed) steps behind the wheel ... they're asking for it. 
They're dead."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman