Pubdate: Mon, 15 Dec 2008
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2008 The Vancouver Sun
Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Rene Bruemmer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?224 (Cannabis and Driving)
Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/topic/driving (Driving)

DRUGS THE NEW CHOICE FOR YOUNG IMPAIRED DRIVERS

While the message that drinking and driving kills has registered 
after 25 years of awareness campaigns, the use of drugs behind the 
wheel is on the rise, according to a B.C. study.

A survey of 1,500 drivers conducted by the Canadian Centre on 
Substance Abuse in June found that while 8.1 per cent of nighttime 
drivers tested positive for alcohol, 10.4 per cent showed evidence of drug use.

The most common drugs were cannabis, cocaine, opiates, and cocaine 
and cannabis in combination. Age was not a factor, the study showed. 
Drivers 45 to 54 led drivers testing positive, in part because 
researchers were also testing for legal drugs that can impair driving.

No 16-to-18-year-olds tested positive for alcohol, but a small 
portion tested positive for drugs.

"The good news is that drinking and driving appeared to be on the 
decline," said Doug Beirness, senior policy analyst at the CCSA and 
lead researcher of the study. "But the messages about drugs and 
driving don't seem to be getting through."

A 2004 study found that drugs were detected in as many as 30 per cent 
of fatally injured drivers, Beirness said.

The latest results were not a surprise to Mothers Against Drunk 
Driving, which expanded its mandate beyond alcohol years ago in 
keeping with the increased use of cannabis among youth.

"The problem with youth is that they're under the false impression 
they're better drivers when they smoke," said Marie Claude Morin of 
the Montreal chapter.

The B.C. survey was done over four consecutive nights. Drivers were 
pulled over by police, then asked by researchers to volunteer for 
anonymous testing with no risk of arrest. Researchers used 
breathalyzers for alcohol and saliva tests for drugs.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom