A Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) is a

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Education ...

officer trained in a scientifically validated method to identify people whose driving is impaired by drugs other than, or in addition to, alcohol. All DREs follow the same 12 step procedure called a Drug Influence Evaluation (DIE), to purportedly determine which category of drugs is causing the driver to be impaired. If a DRE determines that a driver was too impaired to operate a vehicle in a safe manner, they will look for indications of the drugs suspected, by the common perceivable effects the drugs have on the human body. There are seven categories of classifications a DRE is looking for, including; central nervous system

depressant A depressant, or central depressant, is a drug that lowers neurotransmission levels, which is to depress or reduce arousal or stimulation, in various areas of the brain. Depressants are also colloquially referred to as downers as they lower the ...

s, CNS stimulants,

dissociative anesthetics Dissociatives, colloquially dissos, are a subclass of hallucinogens which distort perception of sight and sound and produce feelings of detachment – dissociation – from the environment and/or self. Although many kinds of drugs are capable of ...

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...

hallucinogens Hallucinogens are a large, diverse class of psychoactive drugs that can produce altered states of consciousness characterized by major alterations in thought, mood, and perception as well as other changes. Most hallucinogens can be categorize ...

inhalants Inhalants are a broad range of household and industrial chemicals whose volatile vapors or pressurized gases can be concentrated and breathed in via the nose or mouth to produce intoxication, in a manner not intended by the manufacturer. They ...

, and

narcotic analgesics Opioids are substances that act on opioid receptors to produce morphine-like effects. Medically they are primarily used for pain relief, including anesthesia. Other medical uses include suppression of diarrhea, replacement therapy for opioid us ...

. DREs often testify in court, where the term "expert" has important legal implications. The Traffic Resource for Judges describes different approaches taken by state courts in how DRE evidence is admitted. The acronym 'DRE' has been used to refer not just to the DRE officers, but also to the examination they perform, the "Drug Recognition Examination", or "Drug Recognition Evaluation." The confluence of acronyms leads to confusion, and the IACP now calls the evaluation done by DRE officers the "Drug Influence Evaluation", DIE. DREs were developed by police officers from the

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

in the early 1970s. The officers' drug recognition methods were officially recognized by the LAPD management in 1979, and adopted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the early 1980s. Certification is issued by the

International Association of Chiefs of Police International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) is a nonprofit organization based in Alexandria, Virginia (United States). It is the world's largest professional association for police The police are a Law enforcement organization, c ...

(IACP). To remain certified and in good standing, DREs must track their evaluations and enter the results into an online database.

DRE training

DRE training and certification standards are defined by the International Association of Chiefs of Police Training is available only to "a person ... in the employ and under the direct control of Page, Thomas
"Drug Recognition Experts Combating Drugged Driving"
4 April 2017. Web. 16 July 2017. a public criminal justice agency involved in the enforcement of criminal or traffic safety lawsSeiders, Gregory T. "Call in the Experts: The Drug Recognition Expert Protocol and Its Role In Effectively Prosecuting Drugged Drivers." ''Widener Law Journal'' 26.2 (2017): 229–275. or an institution involved in providing training services to officers of law enforcement agencies.". IACP standards require DREs training to be done using an official Student Manual. This manual. is widely cited in court as defining standards for the performance of a Drug Influence Evaluation.

12-Step DRE process

A DIE involves the following 12 steps # Breath Alcohol Test: The arresting officer reviews the subject's breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) test results and determines if the subject's apparent impairment is consistent with the subject's BrAC. If so, the officer will not normally call a DRE. If the impairment is not explained by the BrAC, the officer requests a DRE evaluation. # Interview of the arresting officer # Preliminary examination and first pulse #

Eye examination An eye examination is a series of tests performed to assess vision and ability to focus on and discern objects. It also includes other tests and examinations pertaining to the eyes. Eye examinations are primarily performed by an optometrist, ...

s # Divided Attention Psychophysical Tests #

Vital signs Vital signs (also known as vitals) are a group of the four to six most crucial medical signs that indicate the status of the body's vital (life-sustaining) functions. These measurements are taken to help assess the general physical health of a ...

and second pulse # Dark room examinations # Examination for muscle tone # Check for injection sites and third pulse # Subject's Statements and Other Observations # Analysis and Opinions of the Evaluator # Toxicological examination: After completing the evaluation, the DRE normally requests a urine, blood and/or saliva sample from the subject for a toxicology lab analysis.

Critique & Controversy

Scientific validation

Claims regarding the effectiveness of DREs have not been supported by research. These claims are critical to the admission of DRE expert testimony in criminal trials. The DRE Student Manual identifies three scientific studies as being those that validate DRE testing. These studies are: Bigelow 1985 (aka the Johns Hopkins study); Compton 1986 (aka the LAPD-173 study); and Adler 1994 (aka the Arizona DRE Validation Study). However, all three of these studies have been shown to have major methodological flaws.

Admissibility

In 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada held that "a DRE is a 'drug recognition expert', certified as such for the purposes of the 12 step evaluation. By reason of his training and experience, a DRE undoubtedly possesses expertise on determining drug impairment that is outside the experience and knowledge of the trier of fact. He is thus an expert for the purpose of applying the 12 step evaluation and determining whether that evaluation indicates drug impairment. His expertise has been conclusively and irrebuttably established by Parliament. Knowledge of the underlying science is not a precondition to the admissibility of a DRE’s opinion." This mirrors US case law where testimony of police officers regarding alcohol impairment is admitted in court without the need for the officer to be an expert in, or to testify to, the underlying sciences of the sobriety tests they are trained to administer.

Police Handing Out Drugs

On May 2, 2012, activists with Occupy Minneapolis released a documentary video called MK Occupy Minnesota. The video documents testimony from participants that police officers in Minneapolis gave them cannabis as part of a Drug Recognition Expert program.

References

{{reflist

External links

LAPD Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) Homepage

RCMP
Drug Evaluation and Classification Program
International Association of Chiefs of Police
Drugs and Driving: When Science and Policy Don't Mix
Mark Asbridge, ''Canadian Journal of Public Health'', Vol. 97,No. 4 (2006–07, pp. 283–285
The Standardized Field Sobriety Tests: A Review of Scientific and Legal Issues
Steven J. Rubenzer, ''Law and Human Behavior'', Vol. 32, No. 4 (Aug., 2008), pp. 293–313
OccupyMN.org

PaperRevolution.org
Law enforcement in the United States Drug control law in the United States