Drivers found to have taken drugs face a prison sentence of up to six months and a fine of up to £5,000 under new legislation, ministers reveal on Monday.
Plans to make driving while under the influence of drugs an offence will be included in a crime, communications and courts bill that will be in the Queen's speech on Wednesday. Offenders will also face an automatic driving ban.
Police forces are to be supplied with devices that will allow them to test drivers for drugs, once the equipment receives approval from the Home Office this year.
Under the law at present, the police can only prosecute drivers who have taken drugs if they can show that driving ability has been affected.
David Cameron said the government had been encouraged to act by the campaign launched by the parents of Lillian Groves, a 14-year-old from Surrey killed by a speeding motorist who had been smoking cannabis. The driver pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving and was sentenced to eight months in prison but was released after just eight weeks.
Cameron said: "I found meeting Lillian Groves's family in Downing Street late last year incredibly moving. As they said at the time, it simply can't be right that a schoolgirl … can lose her life and then we discover we don't have the laws or the technology to punish drug-drivers properly. We want to do for drug-driving what drink-driving laws have done for driving under the influence of alcohol.
"That's why we're doing what we can to get drugalysers rolled out more quickly. And this week we'll publish a new drug-driving offence so that driving under the influence of drugs itself is a crime, just like it is for drink-driving."
The new offence will cover drivers who have taken illegal drugs, but the exact drugs covered and the limits that apply will be determined by a panel of alcohol and drug experts.
Mike Penning, the road safety minister, said: "The new offence sends out a clear message – that if you drive while under the influence of drugs you will not get away with it.
"We have an enviable record on road safety in this country and I want to keep it that way. This measure will help to rid our roads of the irresponsible minority who would risk the lives of innocent motorists and pedestrians."
In the past the Department for Transport has said that one in five drivers killed in road accidents might have had an impairing drug, legal or illegal, in their body. Those thought to be most at risk were young men aged 17 to 29.
The government announced at the start of the year that it was assembling a panel of experts to look at introducing a law against taking drugs and driving, and to assess the means of testing and possible legal limits for motorists.
The move follows a recommendation in a 2010 review of drink- and drug-driving law by the legal expert Sir Peter North – although his proposals to cut the drink-driving limit were rejected by the previous transport secretary, Philip Hammond.
On Wednesday, the Queen's speech will set out the next legislative programme for the new session of parliament. Following the Conservatives' poor performance in the local elections last week, ministers are under pressure to highlight the populist measures in the legislative programme.