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Road side Drug Testing questions..

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this is the craziest thing that i have ever heard. i hope that they never try to start that shit in america. so they can pull you over for say running a stop sign, and as a result give you a drug test for no reason other than being "random" ? that sucks. what happens if you fail?
 
What happens is loss of license for 12 months and a large fine.

Apparently they cannot use a positive drug test as grounds for a search. But since our police can work on reasonable suspicion they can just say they smelt pot and then do a search. 8)
 
A noticable line, doesn't matter how light it is, means you've passed the test. The cop is just being a dick, I don't think anything will come of it.

The most sensitive saliva test available for THC has a cut off of 4ng/ml (I'd guess this is what the cops are using). Such a cut off would detect THC up to 12 hours later.

Out of interest, these are the other cut offs...
Cocaine - 20ng/ml
Opiates - 20ng/ml
Benzos - 15ng/ml
THC - 4ng/ml
Amphet - 50ng/ml
Meth Amphet - 35ng/ml

Don't drive after using drugs though. Simple as that.
 
The newer oral tests are reported to be much more sensitive but I don't know whether or not these will be used in Aus in the short term. If I can obtain the journal article I'll post relevant info.
 
Personally I don't see the coppers telling the public much about roadside testing as it makes money for the government. They spread alot of misinfomation about the testing to keep it random and vague so you can't take your substance and drive. I think with all these tests the police officer is observing you and making a judgement on your state behind the wheel. The thing I hate about all this "road safety" is that while they are out doing this , joe public's personal safety is unattended. If anything we need more police on the street friday and saturday nights, so that you can go out and dance and drink and not have to worry about idiots who can't handle their gear/drink.
 
Road saftey hahaha! The road aint a safe place if you cant except that you may get taken out by someone not concentrating stay off it..

What about a test for fatigued drivers and people that dont give a fuck?
 
marley said:
A noticable line, doesn't matter how light it is, means you've passed the test. The cop is just being a dick, I don't think anything will come of it.

The most sensitive saliva test available for THC has a cut off of 4ng/ml (I'd guess this is what the cops are using). Such a cut off would detect THC up to 12 hours later.

Out of interest, these are the other cut offs...
Cocaine - 20ng/ml
Opiates - 20ng/ml
Benzos - 15ng/ml
THC - 4ng/ml
Amphet - 50ng/ml
Meth Amphet - 35ng/ml

Don't drive after using drugs though. Simple as that.
Click to expand...

With these cut offs, what is the expected longevity after the effects of the drugs have worn off to get down to these levels, mainly interested in Amp and Meth, as you have already suggested the THC levels above.

As you can imagine I don't drive whilst under the influence but am interested what a 'safe' period might be for driving and testing based on the above.

PD also interested in the cut offs you might be aware of.

PLUR
Bayse
 
I have no dramas with roadside drug testing, if idiots only killed themselves we wouldn't need it.

I do have a problem with such a weak range of tolerance. To fob it off as, "well you shouldn't do drugs at all" is poor from a harm reduction perspective. A "One cone will affect you for x number of hours" set of guidelines would be appreciated, but for now you have the risk of people being pinged after a few cones later that afternoon, when from 20 years experience I would say I have returned to ground zero.

I understand different strains and strengths exist, but how is this any different to varying strengths and tolerances to alcohol? Has there been an official reply to these questions, and if not who would you suggest I contact to find out?
 
The answer is that everybody is different and will metabolise drugs at different rates to each other. Therefore there are no definite answers as to how long a person should wait before driving and with the current level of technology as it is that is not about to change any time soon.
 
I'm not expecting a definitive answer. I have heard anything from 4 hours to 12 to 24 which is bullshit. Everyone metabolises alcohol differently but you don't see people (particularly women) too upset if they get pinged after 2 glasses of wine. They just have to expect they are a light weight ad take recommended guidelines as only an estimate.
 
marley said:
Don't drive after using drugs though. Simple as that.
Click to expand...
If only it was that simple though. I've used drugs, does that mean I should never drive again?
It has been made clear the usual amount of time needed for alcohol to clear out before driving, also there are cheap breath testers available that give some indication too. This isn't so true for illegal drugs.
I think that is the info many are after and saying it's as simple as "don't do it" doesn't appear to reflect what the BL users are wanting.

I'm not suggesting it's even possible to give people a good indication of the time needed, just that it seems to be a problem for many with these roadside drug tests. People have little idea how long they can be tested for and the information in regards to that seems suspicious at best.
 
The only info they give is that you can return to your vehicle and drive it away 24hours after being caught.

This to me, does not line up with amphetamines testing which can see you positive upto 36hours.

They are very vague about it all, its ridiculous.

I called the supply company (securetec) and priced a box of 100 (all they would sell the testers in) and they were comming in at under $5 each about a year ago if my memory is right. Would be nice for some community group to organise bulk buys and get the price right down so everyone could test before driving.


The only way to check your safe is to test yourself before driving. I would only test myself when i wasn't fairly certain i would test negative..
 
In one sense, the argument that many HR supporters have put forward about the lack of more accurate limits to the sensitivity of the saliva tests is that this lack of discretion undermines the road safety message.

When police say "it's an illegal drug you shouldn't have any in your system, we don't care whether we're measuring real impairment or not", the message this sends is clear; "this is not about protecting our roads, it's about punishing you for using drugs".

I think the police have weighed up the pros and cons of this move and believe this is in their best interest, because the alternative (proscribing set limits for sensitivity related to impairment) sends a message police would fear even more; it condones drug use.
 
shtonkalot said:
If only it was that simple though. I've used drugs, does that mean I should never drive again?
It has been made clear the usual amount of time needed for alcohol to clear out before driving, also there are cheap breath testers available that give some indication too. This isn't so true for illegal drugs.
I think that is the info many are after and saying it's as simple as "don't do it" doesn't appear to reflect what the BL users are wanting.

I'm not suggesting it's even possible to give people a good indication of the time needed, just that it seems to be a problem for many with these roadside drug tests. People have little idea how long they can be tested for and the information in regards to that seems suspicious at best.
Click to expand...

I'm not meaning to cast stones at anyone here, I've been in the exact same boat after a good night out. I'm merely coming from a 'common sense' type angle. These are the rules, and whether we like them or not, we have to abide by them if we want to keep our license.

As far as cheap breath testers being available, cheap saliva swaps are equally as available, whether online or from your local chemist.
 
baysieguy1 said:
With these cut offs, what is the expected longevity after the effects of the drugs have worn off to get down to these levels, mainly interested in Amp and Meth, as you have already suggested the THC levels above.

As you can imagine I don't drive whilst under the influence but am interested what a 'safe' period might be for driving and testing based on the above.

PD also interested in the cut offs you might be aware of.

PLUR
Bayse
Click to expand...

It appears that different saliva test kit suppliers have slightly different cut off levels, so it is hard to speculate as to what the police are actually working to. I'd imagine many factors would also contribute to the detection period (quality of drugs, metabolism, etc).

I found this table..

Amphetamines 48 hours
Benzodiazepines 60 hours
Cannabis 2-10 hours
Cocaine 3-6 hours
Opiates 4-8 hours

Source: (Cone and Weddington, 1989 and Cone, 1993)

In the following report - http://www.dcs.nsw.gov.au/information/research_and_statistics/research_publication/rp046.pdf
 
^^good find, there's also a table on wiki that's quite different to that one, it seems impossible to find a definite answer to how long you have to wait to be in the clear

"Detection in saliva tests begins immediately upon use of:

* Marijuana and hashish (THC): an hour after ingestion up to 24 hours.
* Cocaine (including crack): From time of ingestion up to 2 to 3 days
* Opiates: From time of ingestion up to 2 to 3 days
* Methamphetamine ("Tweak," "crank," "ice") and ecstasy (MDMA, "Molly") : From time of ingestion up to 2 to 4 days.
* Benzodiazepines: From time of ingestion up to 2 to 3 days"
 
What about passive smoking?

Say you were hangin in a room where some heavy billy punching was going down and you walked out jumped in your car and was pulled over.Do you think this would show in a roadside test?
 
Is there a distinction between methamphetamine and dexamphetamine in terms of testing positive?

I'm prescribed dexamphetamine and diazepam which I take both of fairly often so does this mean I'll have to carry around the bottles with the scripts stuck to them everyday when I drive? Or do I need to report this to the police in my own time so they know before they arrest me for a DUI without proof of a script?
 
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