A former magistrate has slammed the drug driving laws in New South Wales.
The state has been ramping up its use of drug testing during Random Breath Test (RBT) stops in a bid to catch people who might be high behind the wheel.
Opponents of drug testing have long highlighted how these tests don't tell you how high a driver is but simply whether there are drugs present in their system.
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They could have had a session days ago and be completely fine to drive, however a drug test will show up positive for whatever substance they ingested.
It's this issue that has been seized on by David Heilpern, a recently retired magistrate.
In an op-ed in the Sydney Morning Herald, Mr Heilpern said: "Given my recent retirement from judicial office, I can finally say it: our drug-driving detection laws are beyond doubt the most stupid I have had the unfortunate duty to apply.
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"These tests do not take seconds like a random breath test for alcohol. There are three levels of testing. Time taken policing non-affected drug-detectable driving is time away from policing other crimes involving real harm such as domestic violence.
"Other measures that are evidence-based - like speed and mobile phone detection - are neglected. What a waste of the road safety dollar - because that's what funds the testing."
If your roadside drug test comes back positive you can immediately lose your licence for at least three months - which can have a flow on effect for breaking down people's employment, family dynamic and marriage.
Former magistrate Heilpern added that the current roadside drug tests only detect the bigger drugs and omit some of the substances that are commonly found at crashes.
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He said: "I have no doubt some people are replacing cannabis with prescription medication, particularly opioids, in order to keep their licences. A cruel irony when one considers prescription drugs are the most detected after accidents, yet this is not covered by the testing regime.
"The drug-driving detection laws are so ineffective and destructive that the time for such courage is now."
It's an interesting position to take considering he would have been the one to dish out many of the punishments for people who were caught drug driving.
He said there hasn't been a noticeable drop in the number of people killed or injured in our roads since drug testing was introduced en masse around five years ago.
Featured Image Credit: NSW Government