A consultation has been launched on the issue of drug driving in the UK. It is open until 17 September 2013. Responses have to be sent either via email or snail mail (at the time of writing). There is no bespoke online submission method.
I agree fully that there should be strict legislation regarding driving under the influence of drugs, although I have a few concerns about the proposals.
To start with, they’re only targeting a handful of specific drugs – cannabis is an example. However, a growing menace is the use of so-called “synthetic” cannabis, which has chemical entities added which mimic the action of THC, and yet are not THC. These entities are not on the list, and the typical drug user will simply switch to them if they know they can get away with it. Magic Mushrooms (known as Shrooms amongst the mental cases who use them) are also not on the list.
In addition, they appear to be trying to distinguish between those who use drugs for “recreational” purposes and those who have them prescribed. If something is likely to have the same physiological and psychological effect, it doesn’t matter what they’re being taken for. It should be illegal for anyone to have them in their system.
And there is also a question over detection limits and test reliability (THC can be detected for anywhere up to several months in some cases, yet some regular users still manage to pass drug tests)..
They’re entering a veritable minefield, and the risk of loopholes being created from the off is immense if they’re not careful.