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Lawyers Are Calling For Aussie Police To Stop ‘Unfair’ Roadside Drug Testing

Lawyers Are Calling For Aussie Police To Stop ‘Unfair’ Roadside Drug Testing

You can lose your license for a long time if you test positive.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

In Australia at the moment, if you've taken some drugs and jump in your car a couple of days later you could be pulled over for a random alcohol and drug test and the latter could show up as positive.

That's because a drug test isn't the same as an alcohol reading, which can measure just how drunk you are while behind the wheel of a vehicle. Instead, a drug test will merely tell an officer if there are drugs in your system.

Different drugs stay in your system for different lengths of time, according to Drug Abuse. Cocaine can be detectable up to two days after your bender, 72 hours for MDMA and at least seven days when it comes to weed.

Usually, people who have smoked a jointed won't be impaired a week after their session, but that won't stop a drug test from saying that it's in your system.

This system has caused reaction from the Australian Lawyers Alliance, who is calling for an overhaul of state's and territory's drug testing laws.

Spokesperson Greg Barns has told 3AW: "You could have a person who has had some drugs on a weekend and is then driving on the Monday.

PA

"There's nothing wrong with their driving at all, they just get caught on a roadside test and they lose their license for a long time.

"The legislation was designed to stop impairment in driving, in other words to stop people who might be unsafe on the roads. That's the way drink driving laws work, but they don't work that way with drug driving.

"We just need to have sensible drug law reform. We need to stop saying that if you've got a whiff of cannabis on your breath, or in your saliva that means you can't drive.

NSW Transport

People were quick to call the Melbourne radio show to recount how they somehow beat the system even after smoking weed just minutes before the test.

Unsurprisingly, the Victorian government has cracked down on the proposal to change the approach to roadside drug testing.

Minister for Roads and Road Safety Jaala Pulford said: "People need to understand that if they take drugs and drive, even if they feel fine, they will often be impaired and they are certainly putting themselves and other road users at risk."

Doesn't look like there will be much movement from the state and territories, but you can't knock the Lawyers Alliance for trying.

Featured Image Credit: NSW Transport

Topics: Interesting, Community, Australia