Kings cops on the lookout for more than just alcohol fumes

BY WENDY ELLIOTT

Kings County Register

After two recent single vehicle crashes, Kings RCMP have laid what used to be unusual charges: driving under the influence of drugs.

While it was always illegal, the law was changed July 1 to allow for better prosecution of drivers using drugs.

RCMP Cst. John Goss is one of just two officers in Southwest Nova Scotia trained to detect drug influence.

“Bluntly speaking,” he says, “impaired operation is impaired operation. Driver evidence is no different."

Goss says the law was revamped because of the alarming rate of motor vehicle accidents where the influence of drugs was noted. The problem isn't just marijuana, either. In North America, about 110 million prescriptions for pain medications are written each year. People often take more than they are prescribed, mix pain killers with anti-depressants - and don't consider the impact on their driving.

Goss trained for nine weeks in Arizona to test for drug impairment. Following the demand, which is similar to alcohol, he says, it takes about an hour to run through the assessment handbook on drugs, with the officer looking at 12 areas of concern. Many involve physical evidence, but drivers who may be drug-impaired must deliver a urine sample. Any charges, Goss said, "are based on the totality of evidence.

“You can't hide the effects, and there's no refusal."

Goss was moved by the depth of the drug problem he witnessed in Arizona as he trained. He recalls a 26-year-old woman who'd been taking methamphetamines for four years.

"She looked like she was 60 years old.”

He also remembers watching a rich man in a three-piece suit writhing on the floor as he faced his third conviction.