Anti-drugged driving push goes national

Dan Kulin

Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2002 | 11:16 a.m.

Just days after the release of a private study that showed Nevada is one of the few states with strict laws against driving under the influence of drugs, the White House drug czar this morning launched a national ad campaign to fight drugged driving.

The campaign has two goals: to raise awareness of the dangers of driving while on drugs and to push more states to adopt zero-tolerance drugged driving laws.

"While the consequences of drunk driving have become well known over the past 20 years, the dangerous phenomenon of drugged driving has received limited attention," John P. Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said in a statement from his office.

Walters was to unveil two new television ads and a print ad intended to raise awareness of the dangers of driving while under the influence of illegal drugs during the conference, Office of National Drug Control Policy spokesman Rafael Lemaitre said.

The family of Sun Associate Editor and Vice President Sandy Thompson was in Washington for the media event to underscore the personal toll of those who drive under the influence of illegal substances. Thompson was killed in August when a driver under the influence of marijuana crashed into her car.

"These things are preventable, but can still happen," Kelly Thompson, Sandy Thompson's daughter, said.

Kelly and Gary Thompson, Sandy Thompson's husband, caught the attention of national drug control officials with their active opposition to a state ballot question that asked voters to legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, Lemaitre said. The initiative, Question 9, was defeated by 61 percent of the voters.

"People need to understand this is a reality, and who better to talk about that than someone who lost a mother and a wife," Lemaitre said.

Kelly Thompson said she is a little overwhelmed by the attention their activism is receiving.

"But we enjoy being part of something special," she said, adding that speaking out against driving while on drugs is "something my mom would have done."

Along with raising public awareness of the problem of drugged drivers, Walters encouraged states to adopt drugged driving laws that establish the presence of specified drugs in someone's body as proof a driver was under the influence of drugs.

In 34 states authorities must prove the use of a drug impaired a driver, which often makes convictions difficult, said Michael Walsh, whose Maryland consulting firm The Walsh Group studied drugged driving laws in all the states.

Citing examples from parts of laws from numerous states, including Nevada, Walters' office offered an outline to help states draft zero-tolerance drugged driving laws.

Already, Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Rhode Island and Utah, have zero-tolerance laws that apply to all drivers. Minnesota also has a zero-tolerance law, but marijuana is excluded from its list of banned substances, Walsh said.

Nevada law has legal limits, similar to alcohol, for the amount of drugs drivers may have in their systems before being considered under the influence. Walsh, who was on the President's Drug Advisory Council from 1989 to 1993, said the Nevada law is among the top five drugged driving laws in the nation, because it sets specific limits for commonly used drugs.

In California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas and West Virginia, it is illegal for drug addicts to drive while using illegal drugs. In two states, North Carolina and South Dakota, it is illegal for people under 21 to drive while using illegal drugs.

Clark County District Attorney Stewart Bell said the Nevada drugged driving law has made it easier for judges and juries to decide whether a driver was under the influence.

"If you don't have any limit, it's difficult to prove whether it affected their driving or not," Bell said.

Bell added that the Nevada law is fair to drug users because the limits are intended to exclude drivers who may have used drugs long before driving. Those drivers could be convicted under a stricter zero tolerance law, he said.

But John G. Watkins, lawyer for Jessica Williams, who was convicted under the Nevada drugged driving law in connection with a March 2000 accident that killed six teenagers, said drugged driving laws should not base a conviction solely on the level of a drug in someone's body.

Watkins said laws like this wind up putting people in jail who really were not impaired.

"If a person is able to drive ... passes the field sobriety test but smoked a joint the night before, they would be guilty," Watkins said. "It's totally unnecessary to have a law that penalizes people who are not impaired."

Gannett News Service contributed to this story.