DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Now slam the brakes on drug-drive scourge trends now
Apart from the untold misery caused by illegal drugs to addicts, their families and communities, these pernicious substances are also responsible for death and destruction on the roads.
Driving requires full concentration, so the growing proportion who get behind the wheel while high is an urgent issue.
As the Mail reveals today, police chiefs say the menace of drug-driving is, for the first time since it became an offence in 2015, a bigger problem than drink-driving.
When the inaugural drink-drive campaign aired on British TV nearly 60 years ago, taking to the road after a few pints was almost acceptable. Now it's a social taboo.
Yet increasingly motorists – especially the young – will happily drive after using cannabis, cocaine or hallucinogens.
(Stock Image) police chiefs say the menace of drug-driving is, for the first time since it became an offence in 2015, a bigger problem than drink-driving
Ministers and chief constables have vowed repeatedly to tackle this scourge. Where, though, has their tough talk led?
After six years of soaring prosecutions, drug-drive cases plunged by a third last year to just 17,835. So why?
Shortages in police healthcare staff mean the drugs may have left a suspect's system before a blood sample can be taken.
Charges often can't be brought within the six-month legal deadline due to delays with labs processing tests, so victims are denied justice.
Meanwhile, the exorbitant cost of blood tests can deter officers from using them. And too many forces have waved the white flag in the fight against narcotics, emboldening more people to use them.
Politicians and the police must deploy all tools necessary to tackle this scourge.
