Tests for drug-related impaired drivers moving one step closer

Amid all the debate over getting drunk drivers off the street and what level of consumption constitutes impairment, the question of how to snag drug-impaired drivers has bedevilled law-enforcement agencies.

But we may be getting closer to a reliable way to test drivers for evidence of drug-related impairment and recognized limits for a variety of drugs.

MADD Canada, which advocates for tougher impaired-driving laws, has been lobbying for adoption of a standardized drugged-driving test. It issued a report in 2012 that concluded the current regime for testing drugged-driving suspects is not adequate while the incidence of suspected drug impairment among young people is climbing.

The report recommended moving away from existing field-sobriety and drug-related evaluations implemented since 2008 in favour of roadside saliva testing keyed to set drug limits similar to those for blood-alcohol levels for suspected drunk drivers.

[ Related: MADD says law to tackle drug-impaired driving is not working ]

Now the Globe and Mail reports the federal Department of Justice and the Ontario Transportation Ministry are funding a study to determine which kind of oral fluids testing would work best for a range of drugs that could impair driving ability.

Researchers will also recommend what levels of various drugs constitute impairment, the Globe said. The results could be used to amend the Criminal Code to provide the justice system with a yardstick similar to the .08 blood-alcohol limit now entrenched in the law.

Rather than replacing the current evaluation system, the test, if adopted, would be another tool for law enforcement D’Arcy Smith, general manager of National Forensic Services for the RCMP, told the Globe.

“Drugs are not like alcohol,” said Smith, who chairs the drugs and driving committee of the Canadian Society of Forensic Science, a non-profit professional organization that is co-sponsoring the study.

“Setting .08 milligrams [per 100 millilitres of blood] is fairly simple. But for drugs, even drugs that have been around a long time like cocaine or morphine, you have challenges because they have individual effects with individuals."

[ Related: Ruling on breathalyzers behind delay in new drunk-driving law? ]

A number of U.S. states have introduced set limits for THC – the active ingredient in marijuana – in the bloodstream, the Globe noted. Colorado, where recreational pot use was legalized in 2012, saw drug-related road deaths nearly double between 1999 and 2010 as the state's medical marijuana system grew.

Other countries, including Norway and Australia, have adopted roadside oral fluid tests that require suspected drug-impaired drivers to submit to an oral swab or lick a test stick.

In the United Kingdom, the government recently set driving limits for eight prescription and eight illegal drugs, including pot and cocaine, the Telegraph reported in March:

Quebec stepped up detection of drug-impaired drivers last year, starting with familiar roadside tests such as walking, balancing and eye movement, CTV News reported. Those who fail would be taken for further testing at the police station.

Smith told the Globe his group is evaluating the top three roadside oral-fluid tests with the goal of developing specifications Canada could adopt. It will also try to come up with impairment limits for about 20 different drugs.

It would then be up to legislators to decide whether those limits would become law, he said.