Wisconsin has a growing problem with drugged driving [View all]

“Drugged driving: One and the same,” intones a Wisconsin Department of Transportation PSA. “Driving on pills kills.”

The penalties — and devastating outcomes — are the same for drugged driving as they are for drunk driving. However convicting a drugged driver is far more complex.

Wisconsin is in most top 10 lists for the worst states for drunk driving, and while some elements that make up that ranking have improved, opioid use and marijuana legalization in surrounding states have heightened concern about a rise in drugged driving in our state.

With alcohol, a breathalyzer test provides evidence of legal intoxication. One of the best ways to secure solid evidence — to show whether the person’s driving was impaired, or not, by drugs at the time they were behind the wheel — is to have a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE)-trained law enforcement officer on the scene.

Read more: https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2020/03/05/wisconsin-has-a-growing-problem-with-drugged-driving/