MADD wants drivers' saliva tested for drugs

MADD Canada wants police officers to screen drivers for drugs using saliva tests, a precaution against impaired driving that now only emphasizes testing motorists for drinking.

Police officers are out in force this time of year, with roadside stops to check that holiday revellers are not drinking and getting behind the wheel.

But few are trained to look for drivers on drugs, and breathalyzers don't detect drug levels. Blood or urine tests that do detect drug traces are too invasive for roadside checks, police say.

A Western University law professor, hired by MADD Canada to examine driving while on drugs, recommends that Canada implement a system of random roadside saliva testing.

In her recent report, Erica Chamberlain urged Canadian lawmakers to restructure their approach to drug-impaired driving.

Her research showed that drugs are a major problem on the roads, but drivers are rarely checked, she said.

"Of the fatally injured drivers tested for drugs, one-third tested positive for drugs," Chamberlain told CBC News. " So it's a fairly substantial factor."

Police charge about 900 Canadian drivers annually with driving while on drugs, a small fraction of the 60,000 drunk-driving charges each year.

"With drugs, because the enforcement mechanisms in Canada right now are pretty cumbersome and not always available in every detachment, it is under-enforced."

MADD Canada says if police had the right tools to test for drugs such as a saliva swab test that can detect traces of THC, the main ingredient in marijuana, ecstasy and methamphetamines the statistics would change.

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MADD wants drivers' saliva tested for drugs