Porter wants book thrown at drivers with drugs

CARSON CITY -- Law enforcement needs a better legal tool to use against drivers who use drugs.

At least that is the contention of Sen. Jon Porter, R-Henderson.

Porter is sponsoring Senate Bill 481, which would make it easier for drivers using illegal drugs to be charged with DUI.

"I think our society has done a great job of addressing the issues of people driving under the influence of alcohol. But we have not done as good a job of dealing with people using drugs and driving," he said.

Porter said the bill was inspired by an accident involving the son of two of his constituents.

Dan and Carol Grant of Boulder City lost their 42-year-old son in an accident in 1997. They believe it may have been appropriate for the other driver involved to have been charged with DUI. But Dan Grant said the driver was not charged with DUI because it could not be proven that he was actually impaired.

Porter's bill would make it possible to charge anyone with a detectable amount of an illegal substance in their body.

But some defense attorneys object to this because it is impossible to discern whether certain chemicals found in the bloodstream are from a prescription medication or an illegal substance. Also a drug may remain in the body months after it has been used, when someone is no longer impaired.

Porter said he would like to see if an appropriate threshold can be established for certain drugs in the bloodstream to determine when to charge someone with DUI.

"With alcohol there is a standard of 0.10 (blood alcohol level)," Dan Grant said. "There is no such measuring stick for drugs. In my opinion, it really doesn't matter because drugs are illegal."

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