Blowing .21 is 'a lot': Police and experts say
The level of intoxication associated with a blood alcohol concentration [BAC] reading of .21 is significant, according to police and a forensic toxicologist.
"Anytime you have somebody that is double the legal limit or beyond that — that's a lot," Sgt. Ian Barr, a member of the traffic unit with the Regina police, said Thursday.
Barr noted there are many factors involved in determining impairment related to drinking, included the amount of time and the size of the person.
"The range is very, very wide," Barr said, noting he has arrested people who ended up with a BAC of .4 and has also encountered impairment with a reading of .09. The legal limit for driving is .08.
Barr also said that there can be any number of circumstances involved when it comes to consuming alcohol and that it is difficult to make generalizations about BAC readings.
Barr stressed that he has no information about the case of Saskatchewan Party MLA Don McMorris who pleaded guilty to a charge of having a BAC over .08. Barr said he would not comment on that matter.
Former deputy premier fined following charge
McMorris was charged Aug. 5 and was in court Wednesday where he was given an $1,820 fine and had his licence suspended for one year.
Court heard that McMorris had met an old friend and was watching a Saskatchewan Roughriders football game the night before and drank late into the night.
When he woke up the next morning he thought he was OK to drive, but his lawyer said he clearly was not. He was pulled over after reports that he has been driving erratically.
According to information provided to court, McMorris gave police a breath sample that registered as .21.
Aaron Fox, his lawyer, told court that there was "an alcohol issue" involved for McMorris and that the politician was taking counselling for that.
In commenting on the case, Judge Barbara Tomkins said she was perplexed that someone could register a blood alcohol concentration level of .21 the next day.
.21 is a high level: Expert
One expert in the field is also expressing surprise at such a result.
"Whoa, that's very high," Jim Wigmore, an Ontario-based expert in forensic toxicology said when he learned the reading associated with McMorris.
According to Wigmore, for a typical 190-pound male it would take several beers or drinks to reach that level. Wigmore added that time is also a factor, because alcohol is eliminated by the system over time.
"They would have to drink an ounce per hour, of spirits, to maintain that level," Wigmore said.
Wigmore characterized the amount of alcohol consumed, to reach such a reading, as "substantial".
"It's not just one or two beers," he said, adding that — by his estimation — it would take a case of 12 beers to register such a reading over a four-hour period of time.
Wigmore noted that it takes about one hour for the effects of one drink to wear off.
He noted that, in some cases, people who have been drinking wake up the next day and continue drinking.
"So, they don't have to drink a huge amount to keep getting that level up there," he said.
Wigmore did not have access to any details concerning McMorris' case.
McMorris says he will 'make some changes' in his life
Fox, McMorris' lawyer, noted he was prepared to argue that over two hours had passed between the time his client was in police custody and a test was performed.
"You get into questions of late absorption," Fox said. "Having said that, Mr. McMorris acknowledged that he was over the legal limit at the time of driving."
"I have access to the help of counselling, already, and will continue to do that into the future, " McMorris said after pleading guilty Wednesday. "I need to make some changes in my life and I'm committed to that so that this never, ever happens again."
"That's always a question open for debate," Aaron Fox, McMorris' lawyer said when asked if his client has a problem with alcohol. "Whenever we find someone found guilty of driving over the legal limit. Some people might say that's always a problem. That's why it happened in the first place."
