Multi-Drug Use Among Drivers Creates Challenge for Police

About 13,000 people died in alcohol-related traffic accidents nationwide last year. That was slightly fewer than in 2022, but when drugs are added to the mix, the number goes up by another 10,000, researchers and law enforcement officials told a traffic safety session at NCSL's Legislative Summit.

Drugs create complex problems for law enforcement officers trying to determine the cause of accidents and press charges. Blood alcohol levels can reliably show if someone is unfit to drive, but there are no established standards for impairment by drugs.

Lexington police Sgt. Brandon Muravchick says a big challenge is dealing with people who have ingested a mix of substances.

"We're seeing a lot of polydrug categories," he says. "We're not just seeing from the same category such as depressants where you've got Xanax and alcohol, we're seeing them mix different types of things when it comes to hallucinogens. It's not easy to get a reading an officer can take to court."

"We've had states that have said, 'Oh yeah, we don't have a problem with that particular drug in our state.' But when you go to the lab, the lab says, 'Well, we don't even test for it.'"

-Darrin Grondel, Responsibility.org

Muravchick says that many officers simply lack the training to recognize the myriad effects of drugs, especially in combination with alcohol and prescription medications. An officer gets a few hours of training in the academy and may not get a refresher for five to 10 years, he says. Even those with more specialized backgrounds may have had only two or three weeks of training. He says that doesn't compare to the expertise of the defense attorneys officers face in courts defending DUI charges.

The training "isn't long when you have to face an attorney that is really going after you to try to just find one little tiny problem that you've done when it comes to your arrest or your paperwork or your standardized field sobriety test," Muravchick says.

Kentucky's new law legalizing medical marijuana, which goes into effect in 2025, will be a whole new can of worms, he says.

"What's it going to do to our drug recognition experts? What's it going to do to our training? What's it going to do to our canines?" he asks.

Without obtaining body fluids-through blood draw or orally-officers can only look for signs of marijuana impairment, he says. Some jurisdictions allow for electronic warrants in suspected impaired driving cases, which can give officers the right to require a blood test, but Muravchick notes if that testing isn't done quickly, the THC will be out of the system.

Bill Bell, executive director of the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety, says the state works across agencies to monitor incidents of impaired driving and to run checkpoints. Promoting them ahead of time serves as a deterrent, he says. The state also plans to take part in a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration program to offer cash incentives from $20 to $50 to drivers to get a roadside test.

"NHTSA has been doing this for 40, 50 years where they set up shop and anyone can pull off the road," Bell says. "It's not mandatory, and what NHTSA has found is that even though there are substances in your system, people will still pull off the road to collect those monies."

Thirteen distillers founded the group Responsibility.org to combat underage drinking, eliminate impaired driving and promote responsible drinking.

Darrin Grondel, the group's senior vice president of traffic safety, says research has shown people consider drunken driving to be socially unacceptable, but they don't see driving and drug use the same way.

"Part of it I think is we've done a really good job over the years of talking about drunk driving and all the issues and how to plan and prepare yourself," Grondel says. "But when it comes to drugged driving, I think there's a lot of people that may understand, Well, I've been smoking weed for years and it's never affected me. Well, it actually does."

He urged lawmakers to look at the work of their state toxicology labs to get a clearer picture of the problem in their states.

"We've had states that have said, 'Oh yeah, we don't have a problem with that particular drug in our state.' But when you go to the lab, the lab says, 'Well, we don't even test for it,'" Grondel says.

"In order for us to have the data to be able to put resources to the problem, we need to know what the problem really is."

Responsiblity.org provides research to legislators, helps build coalitions and develops public education tools for legislative proposals addressing impaired driving. The group offers training for law enforcement officers in field sobriety testing and has worked on dozens of measures related to alcohol and cannabis impairment and underage drinking and cannabis use. Grondel says there are many organizations active in each state that have come together around these issues.

Kentucky Sen. Jimmy Hidgon is proud to represent a district steeped in bourbon. He notes Kentucky produces 95% of the world's bourbon, and the two counties in his district produce half of that. Last year, 2.1 million people toured distilleries across the state. And Kentucky's rate of fatalities due to alcohol impairment is about 10% below the national average.

But he notes there's a strong push, led by the distilleries, to promote responsible drinking.

"Any commercial you see about bourbon, you'll see that little tag at the bottom: 'Drink responsibly,'" Higdon says. "And if you go on the bourbon tour, and when you make the reservation, they'll tell you to make sure that you have transportation available, especially if you hit the trail and you go to three or four distilleries in one day. They will tell you to make sure that you have something to eat before you come, to make sure that you're hydrated."

Higdon says that messaging is important, but so is having enough law enforcement available for people who don't follow the rules.

He notes the Legislature increased state patrol pay by 15% recently because the force couldn't compete with other employers, and with only 650 officers was staffed well below the recommended minimum of 1,000. But he says the number is now almost at 1,000 and that allows for increasing presence and enforcement to stop impaired driving.

Kelley Griffin is the host and producer of NCSL's "Across the Aisle" podcast.

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