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Driving Under Influence: Drugs

Answer

The aim of the new offence is to improve the law available for tackling the problem of drug driving, a behaviour which presents a significant road safety risk. The new offence contains a statutory defence for those drivers who have taken medicines containing specified controlled drugs in accordance with medical advice.

The Government have set up a panel of experts to work together to come up with recommendations for the controlled drugs to be covered by the new offence and a specified limit for each. The terms of reference for the panel include considering the evidence in relation to amphetamines, benzodiazepines and hypnotics, cannabinoids, cocaine, hallucinogens and opioids.

The expert panel is considering opioids, because some of the scientific issues need to be considered across this family of drugs, which includes both heroin and medicinally used drugs. However the prime targets for the new offence are those controlled drugs taken for non-medicinal reasons which represent a public safety problem on the roads. Heroin is one of the relatively prevalent controlled drugs taken non-medicinally and known to affect driving.

The members of the panel are medical and scientific experts. Their terms of reference include

“to consider in cases where such concentrations can be identified, for an average member of the adult population the degree of variability across the population, including for habitual users of these substances”.

Some controlled drugs available for medical use are often used as drugs of misuse and associated with increased road crash risks. These might be included in the new offence.

The existing offence (in section 4 of the 1988 Act), which covers driving whilst impaired due to drugs, would continue to be relevant to deal with those whose driving is impaired by prescribed drugs (including specified

controlled drugs taken in accordance with medical advice), where police will have to prove impairment on a case by case.

The list of specified controlled drugs and specified limits are not contained in the legislation itself, but the legislation creates the power to set these in regulations. This will be done taking account of the panel's recommendations, consultation and then through secondary legislation using the affirmative procedure. The consultation is a statutory requirement.

The previous administration had consulted various representatives from medical profession, pharmaceutical industry on new drug driving offence in 2008. There was also extensive evidence gathering for Sir Peter North for his report on the review of drink and drug driving law in 2010, commissioned by the Department for Transport.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

116583; 548 cc442-3W

Session

2012-13

Subjects

Drugs Driving under influence Pain

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk