For Immediate Release:  January 30, 2008

Contact: Melissa Pryor Reed
               859.491.0600
               Mpryor-reed@kentoncoatty.com

One sunny June morning in 2006, four community leaders from Bowling Green set
out for a scenic drive on their motorcycles. For two of them, the ride would be their last.
As they were driving through Logan County, a truck driver crossed a double-yellow
line, killing two men and seriously injuring another. The truck driver had marijuana and
drug paraphernalia in her possession. In fact, she admitted to driving with drugs in her
system, and tests verified that she had smoked marijuana before driving.

In a separate tragedy in 2007, 17 children were injured in a Grant County Middle
School bus crash. The bus driver was driving with cocaine, marijuana and prescription
painkillers in her system.

“In both of these tragedies, we see a disturbing fact,” said Kenton County Attorney
Garry Edmondson. “In neither case was the drugged driver convicted of DUI.”

According to Edmondson, who prosecutes DUIs in district court, Kentucky’s laws are
vague in relation to drugged driving and need to be changed. There are no laws in
Kentucky that provide for a presumption of being under the influence of drugs. This
differs from an alcohol-related DUI, where state laws say that if one drives with a bloodalcohol
content of .08 or higher, he or she is presumed under the influence and guilty of
DUI. Prosecutors do not have to prove that the alcohol was influencing the driver while
he or she was operating a vehicle.

The Kentucky County Attorneys Association, made up of county attorneys across the
state, supports two pre-filed bills, BR 97 (Rep. Jim DeCesare) and BR 169 (House
Speaker Jody Richards), which state, in effect, that drivers with traces of controlled
substances in their blood are presumed to be under the influence of those drugs and are
therefore guilty of DUI.

According to Edmondson, the bills provide an absolute defense to an offender who is
driving with a legally prescribed controlled substance in his or her blood, as long as the
driver is following the prescribed dosage and the proper driving restrictions.
“Drugged drivers are causing countless accidents and threatening the lives of those who
drive on Kentucky roads,” Edmondson said.

The Kentucky State Police Lab reported that, in 2006, 63 percent of all DUI cases
tested positive for controlled substances. Kentucky Crash Data for 2006 reports that more
than 20 percent of vehicle accidents involved drugs and that more than 1,000 people were
killed or injured at the hands of drugged drivers in 2006.
“Our legislative leaders showed great insight several years ago by enacting the zero
tolerance DUI law for minors,” Edmondson said.

The law, which prohibits those under age 21 from driving with even trace amounts of
alcohol in their systems, bases its foundation on the theory that since it’s illegal for a
minor to buy, possess or consume alcoholic beverages, it should, likewise, be a crime—
and a more serious offense—for an underage person to have a measurable amount of
alcohol in his or her system while driving.

“We believe this theory is sound and should be applied to illegal drugs,” Edmondson
said. “Since it is illegal for any person (regardless of age) to possess or consume illegal
drugs, our laws should reflect a zero tolerance for those who drive with illegal drugs in
their systems.”

Edmondson said he thinks simple logic would help our laws dealing with driving and
drugs make more sense.

“Currently, our laws more harshly punish those who simply possess illegal drugs than
those who drive with those drugs in their system,” Edmondson said.
He cited an example of a person convicted of a felony for possessing cocaine, for
which they would receive five years in the state penitentiary.

“If that same person were caught driving with cocaine in his or her system, that is
only a misdemeanor, even though the drugged driver is far more dangerous, as he or she
is endangering the lives of innocent motorists, passengers and pedestrians,” Edmondson
said.

In 1991, Kentucky enacted its first per-se law stating that those who drive with a bloodalcohol
level of 0.10 or higher are guilty of DUI. Since that time, DUI injuries and fatalities
have steadily decreased. In fact, when comparing 1991 DUI injuries and fatalities to those
in 2006, we find that the number of injuries and fatalities has been cut by more than 43
percent.

“So following that same logic, if Kentucky passed a per-se law for those driving with
controlled substances in their systems, we could see a similar decrease each year, thus
preventing an estimated 430 injuries and fatalities due to drugged drivers in a calendar
year,” said Edmondson.

The Kentucky County Attorneys Association has sought a drugged driving bill three
times before this year, but has found stiff opposition in the legislature each time, said
Edmondson.

“Community support is crucial to getting this important bill passed,” Edmondson
said. “I encourage those who support these drugged driving bills to contact their
llegislators.”

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