Pubdate: Mon, 15 Dec 2008
Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU)
Copyright: 2008 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274
Author: Rene Bruemmer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?224 (Cannabis and Driving)
Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/topic/driving (Driving)

DOPE SMOKING AND DRIVING ON THE RISE, B.C. SURVEY FINDS

Of 1,500 Night-Time Motorists Stopped, 16.9% Tested Positive For 
Drugs, Alcohol Or Both

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 new study out of British 
Columbia last week.

A survey of 1,500 drivers conducted by the Canadian Centre on 
Substance Abuse in June found that while 8.1 per cent of night-time 
drivers tested positive for alcohol, 10.4 per cent showed evidence of 
drug use. In total, 16.9 per cent of drivers tested positive for 
drugs, alcohol or both.

The most common drugs found were cannabis, cocaine, opiates, and 
cocaine and cannabis in combination. Age was not a factor in drug use 
among drivers, the study showed. Drivers 45 to 54 years old led 
drivers testing positive for drugs, 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 local representatives of 
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 are under the false 
impression they're better drivers when they smoke," said Marie Claude 
Morin, spokesperson for the Montreal chapter. "So many will not drive 
after they drink, but they are quite convinced that it's okay to 
drive after you smoke pot.

"And they're also under the false impression they can't be tested, 
and that cops can't tell."

New legislation enacted in July gives police across Canada the power 
to bring drivers in for drug testing if they're suspected of impaired 
driving. Those who test positive face the same penalties as drunk drivers.

The B.C. survey was conducted in three cities over four consecutive 
nights, Wednesday to Saturday. Drivers were pulled over by police 
officers, then asked by researchers to volunteer to drug and alcohol 
testing. Tests were anonymous and there was no risk of arrest. 
Researchers used breathalyzers for the alcohol tests and saliva tests 
for drugs. Ninety per cent submitted to alcohol tests, 80 per cent to 
drug testing. Volunteers were given $10 gasoline coupons.

The number of marijuana users in Quebec among those age 15 to 24 
almost doubled in the mid-1990s, the Societe de l'assurance 
automobile du Quebec reported, jumping to 26 per cent in 1998.

Tests conducted by the SAAQ eight years ago found that 25 per cent of 
drivers age 16 to 19 and 19 per cent of those age 20 to 24 tested 
positive for cannabis. Because urine tests were used, however, the 
cannabis might have been in their systems for two to three weeks. The 
SAAQ study estimated that only about one per cent of drivers were 
driving under the influence. An Ontario study found between two and 
three per cent of drivers had smoked up prior to driving.

An anti-drug campaign could take effect quickly since the public has 
already been trained not to drink and drive, Beirness said. But it 
will also be problematic because there are hundreds of different 
drugs, and many users might not understand that taking allergy-curing 
antihistamines along with a couple drinks could have devastating effects.

In addition to public-awareness campaigns, family doctors and 
pharmacists will have to pass the message along, he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom