AN EXPERT panel tasked with exploring a new drug-driving offence is to publish its findings early next year.
The committee was formed after the Advertiser's Lillian's Law campaign, credited by Prime Minister David Cameron as the driving force behind a change in the law.
Under the new legislation, it will be an offence to drive if you have certain drugs in your system, removing the current requirement for the police to prove impairment.
The penalty for the new offence will be a maximum of six months in prison with a fine of up to £5,000 with an automatic driving ban of at least 12 months.
The panel has been exploring whether to adopt legal levels, or simply to make it an offence if any amount of the drugs can be detected.
The Crime and Courts Bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on Tuesday ahead of moving to the House of Commons.
