About 12 percent of drivers arrested in the District and charged driving under the influence test positive for the powerfully mind-altering drug PCP.
“It’s shocking that 12 percent of drivers arrested have at some point recently used PCP,” deputy attorney general Robert Hildum testified at a D.C. Council hearing Wednesday morning.
D.C. law enforcement officials discovered the high percentage of PCP users because the city has been forced to rely on using urine analysis for suspected drunken drivers to replace its suspended alcohol breath-test program. Officials are working to restore the breath test program.
Assistant police Chief Lamar Greene said the department will be working with D.C. schools and the department of recreation to raise awareness about the drug’s dangers. They will also be conducting seven drunk driving checkpoints per quarter to make sure drivers know they’ll be caught if they’re behind the wheel while under the influence, Greene said.
