Drugs and Driving FAQs

Posted By Drug Test Australia

1. Who will be required to submit to a roadside drug test?

Any driver, motorcycle rider or supervising licence holder on a NSW road or road related area maybe required to undertake one or more oral fluid tests for the presence of the three illicit drugs.

Vehicle passengers other than supervisors of learner licence holders will not be required to undertake an oral fluid test.

Specific NSW Police operations will target heavy vehicle drivers.
Police will also target roads around venues used for ‘rave’ and dance parties, suspected by Police to be linked to drug driving. 

2. What drugs will be detected by roadside drug testing and why have these drugs been chosen?

Roadside drug testing will detect the following three illicit drugs:

• Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active component of cannabis.
• Methylamphetamine (‘ice’, ‘speed’, ‘crystal meth’ ‘base’ etc).
• Methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA or ‘ecstasy’).

These three drugs are known to be among the most prevalent illicit drugs used by drivers. 

A recent Roads and Maritime Services (replacing Roads and Traffic Authority) study of drug driving in NSW revealed that of those who reported driving on drugs, the most common drug was cannabis at 81 per cent followed by ecstasy at 13 per cent and speed at 10 per cent.

Driving after using cannabis results in longer reaction times, alters distance and time perception, lowers concentration, coordination, alertness and ability to react, and narrows or blurs vision.

Driving after using stimulants such as ecstasy and speed/ice increases risk taking and aggressive driving, causes loss of concentration, and causes blurry or limited vision.

3. How long after using cannabis can delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) be detected?

Roadside drug testing technology will detect recent usage of cannabis by detecting delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in cannabis.

Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) will be able to be detected for several hours after use of cannabis, though the exact time will vary, for example depending on the amount and potency of the cannabis used.

4. How long after consuming ecstasy or methylamphetamine (speed, ice etc) can these drugs be detected?

Roadside drug testing technology will detect recent usage of speed, ice and ecstasy. In some cases these drugs may be detected by roadside drug screening technology for up to 48 hours after use, though the exact time will vary depending for example on the amount taken, the potency of the drug (ie ice has a much higher potency than speed) and how the drugs have been taken.

5. Will delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) from passive smoking be detected in oral fluid?

No. There is no evidence to suggest that any THC in the oral fluid as a result of passive smoking will be able to be detected by the oral fluid testing technology.

6. How will roadside drug testing work?

Police will conduct a preliminary oral fluid test through the window of your vehicle.

You will be required to lick the test pad of the device. A result will be known in about five minutes.

7. How long will an oral fluid test take?

A preliminary oral fluid test will take about five minutes.  

If you test negative to this test you will be able to drive away.

However, if you test positive to the first test you will have to get out of your vehicle and go with a Police officer to provide an oral fluid sample in the Police support vehicle.

In the Police truck you will provide a sample of your oral fluid, which will be tested using a different oral fluid screening device. This second test should take about 20 minutes.

If you test positive to this test you will be prohibited from driving for 24 hours by Police, and the remaining portion of your oral fluid sample from this test will be sent to the State’s analytical laboratory, the Division of Analytical Laboratories for confirmatory analysis.

8. Will I be required to leave my vehicle to undertake an oral fluid test?

No, not for the preliminary oral fluid test.  Police will conduct this first test through the window of your car.

However, if you test positive you will have to get out of your vehicle and go with a Police officer to provide a second oral fluid sample in the Police support vehicle.

9. What will happen to a driver who tests positive to the roadside drug test?

If you test positive to the preliminary oral fluid test you will have to get out of your vehicle and go with a Police officer to provide a second oral fluid sample in the Police support vehicle. 

In the Police support vehicle you will provide a sample of your oral fluid, which will be tested using a different oral fluid screening device. This second test should take about 20 minutes.  

If you test positive to this test you will not be charged at this time, however, you will be prohibited from driving for 24 hours by Police. The remaining portion of your second oral fluid test will be sent to a laboratory for confirmatory analysis. 

If the presence of one or more of these three drugs is confirmed by the laboratory, you will receive a Court Attendance Notice within a few weeks of your roadside drug test with the charge of driving with the presence of an illicit drug.

10. Will drivers who return positive result to a roadside drug test be allowed to drive before laboratory analysis of the test is complete?

If you test positive to this test you will not be charged at this time, however, you will be prohibited from driving for 24 hours by Police.
After this 24 hour period you can resume driving.

11. For drivers who return positive results to roadside drug test, when and how will they receive results from laboratory analyses?

If the presence of one or more of an illicit drug is confirmed by the laboratory, you will receive a Court Attendance Notice within a few weeks of your roadside drug test with the charge of driving with the presence of an illicit drug.

The Court Attendance Notice will include the details of the charge as well as the time, date and location of their court attendance.  

You will have to attend court, which will be local to the location of the offence, to face the charge of drive with the presence of an illicit drug.

12. Will medications be detected by roadside drug tests? 

The oral fluid test will not detect the presence of prescription drugs including medicines with amphetamine–like substances or common over the counter medications, such as cold and flu tablets.

Oral fluid tests will only detect delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) the active component in cannabis, methylamphetamine (speed, ice, crystal meth, base) and methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA) ecstasy - substances that are not legally prescribed in Australia.

13. Why is oral fluid tested rather than blood or urine?

Collecting oral fluid from drivers at the roadside is much easier than collecting a blood or urine sample.

Oral fluid testing devices are a non-invasive, rapid and reliable way to screen for drugs at the roadside.

14. How accurate is the oral fluid drug screening technology?

The oral fluid test is a screening test only.  Oral fluid drug screening technology provides a reliable indicative result in a matter of minutes, making it ideal for use as a roadside screening device but not for an evidentiary result to be used at court.

Those who are screened as being drug positive will be required to provide a further additional oral fluid sample for further testing.

Only a positive drug result from the Government’s analytical laboratory can be used to prosecute for a drug driving offence.

15. What are the penalties if the laboratory confirms the presence of one or more of the three illicit drugs in your oral fluid sample?

The penalty for a first offence is a maximum $1,100 fine and three (minimum) to six months (maximum) licence disqualification.  

The penalty for a second or subsequent offence is a maximum $2,200 fine and licence disqualification for minimum six months up to an unlimited period.

16. What happens if a driver refuses to be tested?

If a person refuses to be tested at the roadside they can be fined $1,100. They will also have to accompany a Police officer to the Police truck where they will have to provide a sample of their oral fluid.

If they refuse to provide an oral fluid sample a maximum fine of $3,300 applies, plus licence disqualification for a minimum of six months up to an unlimited period.

A driver who refuses to be tested can also be prohibited from driving for 24 hours by Police.

17. What happens if I am unable to provide an oral fluid sample?

A person who has genuinely attempted but is unable to provide a sample of their oral fluid will be required by Police to provide a sample of blood in lieu of an oral fluid sample.

The person will be taken by Police to a hospital to have the blood sample taken. The state’s analytical laboratory will analyse the sample for the presence of any drug.

If they refuse to provide a blood sample then a maximum $3,300 fine applies. 

18. Don’t stimulants such as methylamphetamine (speed, ice, crystal meth, base) make you a more alert driver?

While methylamphetamine, in its various forms, can increase your alertness they can also cause you to: 

• Take more risks. 
• Drive aggressively. 
• Believe you drive better than you really can.
• Be overstimulated and lose concentration. 
• Have blurry or limited vision. 
• See things on the road that aren’t where you think they are. 
• Have scattered thoughts or delusions.

Driving when you’re coming down is also very dangerous.  When the effects of stimulants are wearing off your driving is still affected. You may fall asleep at the wheel.

19. Will oral fluid samples be destroyed when the evidentiary drug analysis is complete?

No, the remaining proportion will be stored at the laboratory for six months.
This is so a person can apply for a portion of their own sample to be independently analysed by another laboratory at their own expense.

20. What about other illicit drugs?

Drivers found to be impaired by any illicit drug can currently be prosecuted under existing Police powers for the drive under the influence offence.

There is also a new offence of drive with the presence of cocaine or morphine (heroin) in blood or urine; however drivers will not be randomly tested for these drugs using a roadside drug test.

21. Can drivers be charged with both drug and alcohol offences?

Yes. It will be possible for a person to be prosecuted for a prescribed concentration of alcohol offence as well as an offence of presence of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active component of cannabis, methylamphetamine (‘ice’, ‘speed’, ‘crystal meth’ ‘base’ etc) and methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA or ‘ecstasy’).

However, if a person is prosecuted for a drive under the influence offence, they cannot also be prosecuted for a prescribed concentration of alcohol offence or presence of drugs offence.

22. If a driver tests positive to drugs will they be searched, or have their vehicles or property searched?

Police already have the power to search persons and vehicles for drugs or other items if they have reasonable grounds to suspect evidence of an offence may be found there.

In most cases, no search will occur. However, there could be evidence of drug or other offences apparent to police administering the test. In these circumstances they have the power to conduct a search. 

For More Information, please contact Drug Test Australia at their website www.drugtestaustralia.com.au or call or email us at;

Email Enquiries: sales@drugtestaustralia.com.au

Phone Enquiries: 1300 660 636 or (02)49203225

Original Article; http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/alcoholdrugs/drugdriving/drugdrivingfaqs.html

Police take 1700 drink or drug-affected drivers off the streets

Police test drivers for drugs. Picture: Tim Carrafa Source: Sunday Herald Sun

POLICE have taken 1700 drink or drug-affected drivers off the streets of Victoria in the first phase of its summer road enforcement campaign.

Operation RAID – Remove All Impaired Drivers – detected more than 36,500 traffic offences during the past three weeks, 3000 more than in the same period last year.

Assistant Commissioner for Road Policing Robert Hill said he was astounded.

“It just astounds me that despite the research, despite the education, despite the heartache, people are still willing to risk their lives on the road,” Mr Hill said.

“I look at incidents like the terrible collision that claimed five lives in Lara over the weekend and wonder what more we as police could have done?”

“But it’s not just up to the police. Everyone needs to play their part and show some responsibility – drivers, passengers and pedestrians alike,” he added.

One driver, a 58 year old Yarrawonga man, was seen talking on a mobile phone and holding a can of beer while unsuccessfully trying to steer his Holden ute along the Murray Valley Highway in Cobram East around 2.35 last Thursday.

“The incident occurred at the same location where two days prior, a 20-year-old Mulwala woman was killed after her vehicle collided with a tree,” Victoria Police spokeswoman Cath Allen said.

One disqualified motorist was caught with drugs in his system in the same location in Bittern and same operation as he had the year before.

And five drug drivers were detected in the Mornington Peninsula area all on Saturday night.

“Over the last three weeks during this operation, we’ve breath tested 671,863 motorists and drug tested a further 1580 motorists,” Mr Hill said.

"We’ve had more police on the road than ever, working around the clock to deter and take these risk-takers off our roads.

“My challenge to all road users, two weeks out from Christmas, is stay safe or stay off the road this summer,” he added.

The operation detected:

• 1580 drink driving offences

• 196 drug driving offences

• 1092 disqualified/suspended drivers

• 1542 unlicensed drivers 

• 3191 unregistered vehicles 

• 10,819 speeding offences 

• 3152 mobile phone offences 

• 2576 disobey signs/signals 

• 262 impoundments 

• 1528 seat belt offences. 

The 52-day campaign will run across Victoria until January 9. 

Posted By Drug Test Australia

Original http://www.news.com.au/national/police-take-1700-drink-or-drug-affected-drivers-off-the-streets-of-victoria/story-fndo4cq1-1226533910237

• Jon Kaila
• Herald Sun
• December 11, 201212:00AM

Lack of testing leads to Kronic problem: NZ Emergency Doctor

Posted by Drug Test Australia

Original; Emma Dawe, The Southland Times; http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/5264514/Lack-of-testing-leads-to-Kronic-problem-emergency-doctor

An emergency physician believes people are using party drugs, including Kronic, under the misguided belief they have been rigorously tested by authorities.

Paul Gee, from Christchurch Hospital, said that was not the case at all and party drugs were actually in a "twilight zone" between legal and illegal drugs because they were not covered by legislation.

"They're not a named drug covered by legislation. Nor are they a food, so they escape legislation covering foods.

"They're being slickly marketed and people are buying them not realising they've never been tested before in humans."

Speaking at the winter symposium of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine held in Queenstown yesterday, Dr Gee called for the onus to be put on manufacturers to prove new psychotropic drugs were safe.

"At present we have to wait until people reach intensive care before there is any action."

The herbal ingredients in the products were mixed with unlisted synthetic Cannabinoids that had been declared illegal in some countries but were unregulated in New Zealand.

Dr Gee said he was seeing more patients affected by the drugs – those patients were showing symptoms similar to those of people using cannabis, such as drowsiness, increased heart rate and feelings of euphoria.

Those symptoms were what doctors had expected, but what was not expected were the amphetamine-type symptoms some party drug users were displaying, including seizures, he said.

"We've seen some people probably close to unconsciousness," he said.

While it was too soon to determine what the long-term effects of using the drugs were, Dr Gee said there was evidence prolonged cannabis use could lead to long-term memory loss, and there was no reason why that would not be the case for the prolonged use of party drugs.

Dr Gee said his main concern was nobody had done any scientific research on the drugs.

While any new food or medicine was stringently tested before being licensed for consumption in New Zealand, the chemicals in these substances were not.

"It basically amounts to experimentation but without the upside of gathering any information."

Meanwhile, former Central Otago District Mayor Malcolm Macpherson is calling for people to join him in a footpath demonstration outside the only shop in Alexandra selling Kronic – C&C Traders.

Mr Macpherson said there was no justification for the owner to sell Kronic, and other products that exposed the community to health risks.

C&C Traders owner Bill Clements said he was being "pushed into a corner" for no reason, as the products were not to blame for the problems parents were having with their teenagers.

Contact us at Drug Test Australia
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Call for drug tests to catch patient's dealing their medication

Posted by Drug Test Australia

Original; Call for drug tests to trap patient dealersSave

By Julia Medew

Nov. 18, 2012, 3 a.m.
http://www.theherald.com.au/story/1128078/call-for-drug-tests-to-trap-patient-dealers

PATIENTS being given powerful painkillers should be routinely drug tested to make sure they are not selling their drugs on the booming black market, doctors say.

While addicts ''doctor shopping'' for prescriptions is well known, the head of pain management at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, Penny Briscoe, said there was now evidence of ''fossil pharming'' in Australia where elderly people sell their medication to supplement their pensions.Leading pain and addiction medicine experts say there is increasing evidence of doctors being scammed for large doses of prescription drugs, particularly addictive opioids such as OxyContin.

Dr Briscoe said an elderly palliative care patient recently admitted to selling his drugs to boost his income, raising the prospect that more patients were doing the same without their doctors knowing.

''I think we should be screening a lot more patients than we are and if you're going to do it, you have to do it to everybody and tell patients about it. You can't discriminate on age, sex or the number of tattoos,'' she said.

The head of clinical services at Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, Matthew Frei, said that while most people abusing prescription opioids were getting them from doctors for themselves, some were getting them from elderly relatives who were either selling them or passing them on.

''I certainly have seen people who say their source for the drug was an elderly relative,'' he said. ''I don't think it's extraordinarily common but it's possible we're not hearing about it.''

Another addiction medicine specialist, Philip Crowley, said urine testing patients on opioids should be standard treatment.

''There's a strong economic incentive to sell these drugs. You can sell one Kapanol [morphine] tablet for up to $80 so if you get a pack of 20, you can certainly make enough to pay your rent and power bill.''

It comes as doctors are increasingly falling prey to sophisticated scams to get large amounts of prescription drugs.

State health departments have advised doctors about various scams this year including fraudulent prescriptions and fake letters from doctors to get hundreds of OxyContin tablets from dozens of doctors.

Some people stole pages from GPs' prescription pads while they weren't looking.

Others created fake prescriptions using images on the internet, or posed as doctors.

In one extraordinary case, a Victorian man got prescriptions for anabolic steroids by calling a GP and successfully pretending to be a hospital specialist who was referring a patient (himself) to the GP to obtain the prescriptions.

''The same offender obtained more than 800 anabolic steroid injections by presenting forged prescriptions, and obtained enough testosterone to treat 87,000 sheep by convincing a veterinary practitioner that he was a sheep farmer,'' a Victorian health department document says.

Health authorities say prescription opioids are increasingly becoming a drug of choice on the streets because of their purity and low cost. Sydney's medically supervised injecting centre recently reported that two thirds of its 225 daily clients were now injecting prescription opiates, especially OxyContin.Another patient has been using a fraudulent letter from an interstate medical clinic that has a number on it that connects to his female accomplice.

The dangerous trend appears to be causing more deaths. An analysis by researchers at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of NSW found 500 Australians aged 15 to 54 died of an opiate overdose in 2008, up from 360 in 2007.

Only one third were from heroin. Preliminary figures suggest there were 612 such deaths in 2009, a 22 per cent increase from 2008, and 705 in 2010, a 15 per cent increase from the year before.

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Legalizing marijuana created a rippling effect

Posted by Drug Test Australia
Original at http://www.gazette.com/articles/marijuana-147208-rippling-created.html


Medical marijuana is packaged for sale in 1-gram packages at the Northwest Patient Resource Center medical marijuana dispensary, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012, in Seattle. After voters weighed in on election day, Colorado and Washington became the first states to allow possession of up to 1 oz. of legal pot for recreational use, but they are likely to face resistance from federal regulations.

The famous — or infamous, depending on your point of view — ballot measure legalizing marijuana in Tuesday’s election is already sending ripples through Colorado’s medical marijuana community.

Some medical marijuana dispensaries are worried, some aren't. Some dispensaries supported the ballot measure, some didn't.

But one thing is for sure — they've all gotten a lot more attention since the ballot measure has made national news.

“One centre owner I know said somebody from Chicago called up and asked if they could send them a pound in the mail,” said Jeff Sveinsson, the owner of Cannabicare, a medical marijuana dispensary near Peterson Air Force Base.

Tanya Garduno, president of the Colorado Springs Medical Cannabis Council, said her phone “has been ringing off the hook” with calls from centers all over Colorado.

Center owners, she said, are being hassled by people from not just Colorado Springs but by people from Durango, Pueblo, Denver and in other towns who want to buy pot.

“It’s pretty hilarious when I get those problems,” Garduno said. “Every centre has been swamped with calls, ‘Can I buy now?’ ‘No, you can’t.’ ”

Amendment 64, which Colorado voters approved Tuesday by a 55 percent margin, will allow individuals older than 21 to possess as much as an ounce of marijuana and grow as many as six marijuana plants. It will also allow retail marijuana stores to open in January 2014, after the Legislature enacts industry regulations.

Many people around the country haven’t read the fine print, though. Personal possession will only become legal after the governor proclaims the amendment part of the state Constitution, which may not happen until the governor’s deadline, Jan. 5.

That isn't just an annoyance, Sveinsson said. It points to a serious flaw in the amendment — the measure doesn’t specify whether only Colorado residents can buy recreational marijuana.

“We’ve had people calling our store all week long who are from out of state, who are going on road trips and want to buy marijuana from us,” Sveinsson said.

“We’re going to be (angering) Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois, you name it.”

Sveinsson is only one of dozens of medical marijuana stakeholders around Colorado Springs, though, and plenty of others have no problem with the amendment.

Gina Akeo, the manager of the medical marijuana center Natural Leaf, said she voted for it because of the criminal repercussions.

“If you’re going to legalize alcohol, which kills thousands of people a year, and not legalize something that’s never harmed anyone, that’s counter-productive,” Akeo said. “The feds shouldn't be wasting time on people that are committing minor crimes like having less than an ounce of pot.”

Akeo said that plenty of her patients also voted for Amendment 64 for the same reason.

But they, and Akeo, still have reservations.

“It’s also a medical thing, and to make it recreational kind of defeats the purpose. It’s kind of a Catch-22,” Akeo said. “A lot of patients don’t want people with minor amounts incarcerated, but they also don’t want their medical to be interfered with.”

For those reasons and more, Garduno said, the Medical Cannabis Council planned a meeting to discuss the issue. The council has more than 60 members, she said, including dispensary owners, employees, patients and doctors.

“Most of the folks are kind of split down the centre. Half of them say they’re in favour of going legal, and half want to stay patient-based,” Garduno said.

And some are furious, like Sveinsson.

“We’re going to become the Amsterdam of the United States,” he said. “I can guarantee that (buyers) will be offloading it onto the streets and sending it out of state.”

Some dispensaries will probably be interested in selling both recreational marijuana and medical, Garduno said, because they’ve already set up shop and could make more profits if they add to their clientele.

That depends largely on what kind of rules the Legislature puts out, Akeo said. Her shop hasn’t even considered yet whether or not it may sell recreational marijuana, because they wouldn’t have to apply for a license until 2014.

“We knew we’d better hurry up and wait, just like we did with medical. It’s like, what’s going to happen now?” Garduno said.

Medical marijuana, Garduno and Akeo pointed out, was approved by Colorado voters in 2000, but regulations are still being handed down by the state. Centres have had to relocate, update security systems, and more. Regulations for recreational stores could take longer and be even more stringent.

Other stakeholders in the industry are also talking about what may happen if the federal government decides to prosecute stores that begin selling recreational marijuana. Marijuana may be legal in Colorado, but remains banned under federal law.

The federal government has shut down medical marijuana dispensaries in other states, like California, and some warn that the same thing could happen here if Amendment 64 leads to federal intervention.

WHEN LEGAL?

Personal possession of marijuana will only become legal after Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper proclaims the amendment part of the state Constitution, which might not happen until the governor's deadline, Jan. 5, 2013.

A medical marijuana plant is shown at the Northwest Patient Resource Center medical marijuana dispensary, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012, in Seattle. After voters weighed in on election day, Colorado and Washington became the first states to allow legal pot for recreational use, but they are likely to face resistance from federal regulations. 
Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/marijuana-147208-rippling-created.html#ixzz2C403sLJV

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