The law, passed this year after three failed attempts, has been lauded by law enforcement and groups who say drug-induced drivers are escaping unpunished at a time at what time their numbers are climbing.
“Love it,” said Gregg Thomson, a creator from Kanata, Ont., who predicted Tuesday that the new testing will deter the vulgar from driving under the ascendency of drugs, normal in the same proportion that the breathalyzer test produced a drop in drunk driving.
Thomson has been lobbying for a unaccustomed law since 1999, when his son, Stan, and four of his friends were killed when a 17-year-old who had been smoking marijuana attempted a highway send that led to a pileup.
The crash became a catalyst for the group Mothers Against Drunk Driving to start pushing for changes to the Criminal Code, which outlaws drug-impaired driving but until at once has not included measures that allow police to order a battery of tests.
The new law, however, has sparked warnings about potential court battles from critics who contend that demanding bodily fluids is overly intrusive and scientifically unreliable in detecting deaden with narcotics impairment.
“This is going to be challenged left and lawful,” predicted Murray Mollard, executive director of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association.
Beginning next Wednesday, drivers suspected of being high will be required to perform physical tests at the side of the highroad, so as walking a straight line.
If they fail, they will be sent to the police station for further testing by a skilled “drug recognition expert” and then be forced to give blood, urine, or saliva samples if they flunk the take part with test as well.
Critics say the new law could cause more problems than it solves, particularly because in that place is no reliable scientific standard to find drug use.
(Read the full post about ‘Law lets cops test drivers for drugs (Windsor Star)’…)
