Pubdate: Mon, 30 Mar 2015
Source: Alberni Valley Times (CN BC)
Column: Behind the Wheel
Copyright: 2015 Glacier Community Media
Contact:  http://www.avtimes.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4043
Author: Tim Schewe
Note: Tim Schewe is a retired RCMP constable with many years of 
traffic enforcement experience.
Page: 5

DETECTING DRUG IMPAIRED DRIVERS A CHALLENGE

Cannabix Marijuana Breathalyzer May Allow Police to Conduct Roadside 
Tests for THC in the Near Future

Detecting and successfully prosecuting drug impaired drivers on 
B.C.'s highways is not a simple task.

Currently the Criminal Code provisions for Drug Recognition Expert 
examination is the only method used to qualify drug induced 
impairment where the driver is not obviously incapable of physical control.

One day in the not too distant future, the Cannabix marijuana 
breathalyzer may allow police to deal with the problem though a 
roadside breath test just as they would an alcohol impaired driver.

A breath testing tool to detect THC, the psychoactive ingredient in 
marijuana, will have to undergo scientific testing to insure that it 
accurately measures the concentration on the driver's breath and 
relates it to the level in their blood.

Once that has been determined the laws will need to be changed to 
indicate the maximum allowable THC level that the driver can have. 
Finally, the whole scheme will have to survive the challenge of our 
legal system.

We have not followed the current practices of countries like Britain 
and Australia. Britain has recently set blood concentration limits of 
a number of prescription and illegal drugs and enforces them by blood 
testing. Australia has done the same but uses saliva testing instead. 
A breath test based system, at least for THC, may be more palatable 
if it is successful as it is not as invasive a test as the other two are.

According to the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, drug impaired 
driving almost equalled alcohol impaired driving instances in fatal 
collisions during 2010. The Centre also reports that young people 
continue to be the largest group of drivers who die in crashes and 
test positive for alcohol or drugs.

A system to effectively deter drug impaired driving is needed and the 
Cannabix device may be a made-in-B.C. component of the solution.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom