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There are currently 35 responses to “Roadside Drug Tests for Queensland Drivers”

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1. 1 On November 1st, 2007, Angela said:

   Please do not feel hypocritical about warning people about the danger of taking drugs and driving just because you have been there before. You now have a testimony to say I know the danger of that because I have been there, but I have turn aside from that and so can you.

2. 2 On November 2nd, 2007, craig said:

   Hi Angela,
   Thankyou for taking the time to leave your comment. I had not thought of it that way, it is such a touchy subject with a lot of people and people are quick to critisise you if you ‘have been there done that’ and you are trying to warn others of the dangers. It comes back to the old story, “If I had my time again”. Thankyou for your thoughts, very insightful.

3. 3 On November 30th, 2007, Jonathon said:

   I just wonder about the waccy baccy. It can stay in your system for a couple of weeks after you have a toke. Would this be picked up by the drug testing and result in a serious fine even though you are not the least bit affected by it at the time of testing?

4. 4 On December 1st, 2007, Adam said:

   I don’t KNOW about this HOW does the drug test work , if you smoked POT 2 to 10 days ago will you still give a reading of drugs in your spit.or does it only pick up what you had the day (WHICH ANYONE WOULD UNDERSTAND)BUT I DOUBT IT, I have a little girl an would never drive Stoned with or with out herin the car its like Drinking,I Am Worried if this test is not correct (ACCURATE) a lot of peoples lives will be CHANGED FOREVER ,,,,

5. 5 On December 1st, 2007, craig said:

   Thanks for your comments guys. My understanding of this is that the saliva test will only return a positive reading if you have had marijuana in the last 12 to 24hrs. If I find any more details on the testing procedure I’ll add them to the post.

6. 6 On December 1st, 2007, John said:

   Anyone whom has ever smoked weed would well know that even 12-24 hours after smoking you are not still under the influence of it, yet you would be if you injested it. As THC bonds readily with fat molecules how do we know that it won’t show up positive test even when the person is feeling no effects whatsoever. I am not saying that driving while high is right, infact it is easily just as dangerous as drink driving but we need to be carefull how we inforce it. How will say a prescription drug like phentamine go in a test for amphetamine? Does anyone know? I think this zero tolerence approach is pretty sketchy when the general public has been given no information in order to make responsible decisions. With drink driving our guidelines are black and white, we know how many drinks we can consume in a certain time frame and how long we must wait after being drunk before we can drive again, yet we have had no forthcoming guidlines for “illicet” or what may even be prescription substances. I am just concerned that alot of good peoples lives will be permantly impacted on in a very negative manner due to nothing more than the enforcement of a law of which no-one really knows the benchmark. How can this be fair?

   In the aviation industry we have, all be it only recently, been given a set very definative guidlines in relation to the use of substances, illicet or not, and the piloting aircraft so that we are able to make well informed decisions so as to not endager the safety of anyone, why is it then that motorists are not afforded the same respect.

   This looks more like a ploy by the government to win brownie points with voters as they are being seen to be addressing the problem when in fact they are merely putting a less than adequate band-aid over it.

   I think sobriety tests would be a much fairer and accurate alternative to addressing the issue of drug driving.

7. 7 On December 1st, 2007, John said:

   And to add to my point i just found this on a website of a producer of saliva drug testing technology. I think the last sentence says it all!

   “Saliva has advantages for drugs of abuse because parent drugs are measured (urine testing targets metabolites) so more recent use is determined. This therefore provides a better correlation with fitness for work. Saliva drug testing doesn’t neccessarilly provide evidence of impairment.”

8. 8 On December 1st, 2007, craig said:

   Hi John,
   Thanks for taking the time to leave your comments. I agree, there seems to be many ‘grey’ areas with drug testing. Will be interesting to see how it all goes.

9. 9 On December 3rd, 2007, essa said:

   hi craig.i have many friend who have driven under the influence of marijuahna.they are safe and well.i have never known anyone(thank god) wrapping thier car around a tree while stoned.neither have i heard of a stoned man belting the daylights out of his spouse.my friends are stressed and thankfully not smoking more dope.how long does it take for pot to get out of your system.i need to be able to give good advice.i look forward to your reply.

10. 10 On December 3rd, 2007, craig said:

    The only information available that I can find states that it depends on the quantity and quality of the drug as to how long it is detectable for. Not even approx. figures are being given.

11. 11 On December 4th, 2007, Leo said:

    I think that these drug testing kits should be available for purchase so citizens can test themselves and thereby gauge when they can safely drive and avoid be charged. Any info about where you could purchase these tests would be useful.

12. 12 On December 4th, 2007, craig said:

    Leo,
    Thank you for taking the time to leave your comment and I think you have a great idea there. Much like the breathalyzers that you can buy to check your alcohol reading. Hopefully a reader will know if these are available or not.

13. 13 On December 5th, 2007, freddy said:

    It is frightening as a prescription drugs user, for many years now. I take Tramal for pain (low dose) but it is a derivitive/opiate. As well as having anti depressants. All taken at about 6 PM after which I don’t drive, or even go out but I do drive about 8 AM next day.

    As to wacky, comedian Bill Hicks said it best. He’s a confessed, now deceased due to non related illness, ex drug user who used humour to focus on the damage of wacky on people. For example he said words to the effect of “Dude, we’ve just hit something”, Dude answers “Hey, we haven’t even left the garage yet!”.

    He also makes the point of how many wacky users have died from wacky as compared to alcohol. Slight imbalance.

    Yet there is a zero tolerance of wacky but alcohol has an acceptable limit.

    I see little problem with wacky as nobody actually wants to go out, least of all driving after a toke. If you’ve been drinking and add wacky then anything can happen…

    My doc told me it takes about 2 - 3 days untilthe testable levels are reduced sufficiently but that was just a general comment and he’s guessing.

    I stopped some time ago for health reasons anyway but I always have had long breaks. 10 years at one time. No doubt in the future I’ll smoke again. Maybe by then politicians will be using wacky before they talk to each other so they chill out!

14. 14 On December 6th, 2007, michael said:

    i have tried to research the test process, and here’s what i’ve come up with, first you get swabbed and a half arsed quick test, then if thats positive they swab you again and send that sample the the lab, as well as suspeding your licence for 24 hours. then you wait for the results. the test is actually looking for THC directly (not the metabolites which they test for with the urine test, which can show up weeks later, depending) which means atleast you wont get picked you smoked yesterday, the active chemical has to be in you saliva still. but there is no lower limit on the test, just as low as the sensitivity of the testing equipment which is getting ever more acurate. this seem’s to me to be another attack on marijuana users more than reducing death toll.
    now according to the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) report on marijuana (a peer review report praised for its accuracy mind you), weed was found to be in the urine (again metabolites) of an average of 11.9% drivers involved in both fatal and non fatal accidents (with about 20% of adults reported to be regular marijuana users this would indicate that we take up less than our fair share or accidents). and with alcohol causing nearly 50% of road fatalities, why is the fine for getting caught with marijuana in any dose three times as high?
    we need to stop using the excuse “you dont know what it will do to you” and start to find out, there is no conclusive research on marijuana affecting risk of an accident, infact any research done the margin has been so small that they would need a test group 10 times as large to get a conclusive figure, this war on drugs is just as bad as iraq, a war that should never have been fought, only taking innocent lives,has no direction, is only moving backwards, and the whole thing is fueled by misinformation.

    as for me, im a marijuana user because i have over $200,000 of metalwork in my ankles and spine, and they want to keep me full of morphine when a couple of cones will eliviate my pain in a much more effective manner, with less side effects, getting high is just a bonus, albeit a very rewarding bonus.
    feel free to respond to, m_rigney69 at hotmail dot com

15. 15 On December 7th, 2007, Mark said:

    G’day folks. So if I have a couple of cones with my friends on a Saturday night, will i test positive to the saliva test on Sunday afternoon when I drive home and am not affected by the drug? What are your rights in the testing situation?

16. 16 On December 8th, 2007, Lorraine said:

    In oral fluid, drugs will be detected within minutes after use.
    In urine, drugs will remain undetected in the first 4-8 hours.

    Detection Time
    Oral Fluid

    Marijuana 12-24 hrs*
    Opiates 12-24 hrs
    Amphetamine 24-48 hrs
    Methamphetamine 24-48 hrs
    Benzodiazepines 24-48 hrs
    Cocaine 12-24 hrs

    Days/weeks *
    Infrequent use: 1-3 days
    Regular use:1-3 weeks
    Chronic use: 1-3 months

    The detection time differs from person to person and depends on a number of factors (age, sex, weight, metabolism, usage.

    FOUND THIS ON WEBSITE:http://www.drugtesting.com.au/detection.htm

17. 17 On December 9th, 2007, craig said:

    Thanks for your comment Lorraine, that is good info.

18. 18 On December 10th, 2007, BRUCE said:

    HI GUYS
    IVE GOT FRIENDS THAT WORK IN THE MINES AND THEY HAD THE NEW DRUG TESTING KITS THAT THEY COULD TRY WITHOUT CONVICTION, 3DAYS SINCE A LAST SMOKE AND HE RETURNED A POSITIVE TEST. HOW IS THAT UNDER THE INFULANCE? WITHOUT GIVING THE PUBLIC THE RIGHT INFORMATION AND GUIDE LINES (LIKE WITH DRINKING)CONDUCT THE TEST. NO ONE WHO HAS THE POWER TO PUT THEIR HAND UP AND APPOSE IT WILL OUT OF FEAR OF BEEN LABLED AS A USER. I KNOW PEOPLE WHO USED FOR 40YRS AND DRIVEN JUST AS LONG AND THEY R STILL ALIVE FIGHTING FIT. I THINK THE IDEA OF DIY DRUG KITS AT HOME WOULD BE ABOUT THE BEST EVER…. SOMEONE GIVE THAT GUY A MEDAL!!! ALL AND ALL ITS BULLSHIT GOVERNMENT CANT CLAIM TAXES OF IT, SO MAKE IT ILLEGAL… TELL ME IF IM WRONG

19. 19 On December 11th, 2007, Chris A said:

    I just want to thank lorraine for the above post and link- I’d been looking for ages for this information which lead me to finding this page in the first place.
    I’m a 22yr old male who has been smoking pot for many years on and off, from my experience I believe that smoking pot definatly does have an effect on my driving (this may differ with various people), While never having had any dangerous / close call experiences while driving under the influence of pot I have noticed and believe that I act differenly while driving while stoned (eg being distracted easily, briefly loosing concentration, getting tired faster (tired eyes), slower responces and being a little parinoid when I see police cars driving up behind me on the motor way lol). Having only driven under the influence of alchol once, i believe pot is a much safer drug to be on while driving compared to alchol. Obviously this doesnt permit driving after smoking pot.

    I also belive that the deaths that have occured on the road where pot has been detected in the drivers system, that pot is not souly to blame in all cases, instead pot probably only contributed to a few cases and the majority of these deaths were caused by other things such as road conditions, in car distractions like kids/music/phones, weather conditions and other “idiot” drivers who cant drive. Its only because the illegal drug majuarana was detected in the system that the police say that this contributed / caused the deaths and make a big deal with the media.- This is my general belief and of course driving while under the influence of pot has contributed to many deaths.

    Being a pot smoker my self, I do belive that the road side drug tests are a good thing for our society and will make social drug user’s like myself think twice before driving immediatly under the influence. Say there was only 1 death on the road each year that was souly caused by that driver being under the influence of drugs, if that driver thought twice and didnt drive that day, they wouldnt have died or killed. and I believe that 1 life justify’s the new road side drug tests

20. 20 On December 12th, 2007, Big Stu said:

    O.K. folks let’s be Real for a minute - I am a Truck Driver. “Most” of us as professional drivers have at some stage been in the situation where in order to get our jobs done in a safe and efficient manner, we have had the need yes that’s right - Need to use amphetamines. Some of the time frames we are required to operate under are insane. Joe Public doesn’t realise this as all they really care about is the shelves at the Grocery Store being fully stocked, being able to go shopping and buy those new clothes, or whether or not their parcel off eBay has arrived on time.

    The honest reality is this - Now that truck drivers are no longer able to use amphetamines to keep awake for fear of licence loss, there are a couple of possible outcomes:

    1) The amount of Truck drivers dieing at the wheel due to fatigue (falling asleep at the wheel, micronapping, misjudging hill descents, losing concentration and veering into oncoming traffic etc;) WILL increase. twice in the past week I have had 2 YES 2! Roadtrains coming at me where the driver has been asleep at the wheel and I have had to scream at them over the UHF two-way radio in order to wake them and get them back onto their side of the road and avoid an incident, which would probably be fatal for both of us.

    2) The general Public’s freight will be late. Oh yes folks expect to see a whole lot of late freight sitting on docks of forwarding companies and a lot of drivers now sleeping a whole lot more in order to arrive alive. Instead of sleeping at their destination. Hmmm this will be interesting now won’t it…

    3) Both of the above will hapen in turn causing pressure to be mounted on the Government to only test for Marijuana, Ecstacy etc and turn a blind eye to Transport Operators utilising speed to stay awake and do their job safely and eficiently. Or alternately the amount of scripts for Duromine will increase as driving under the influence of this drug is legal. You cannot be conviced for driving under the effects of it as long as it is prescribed leggaly by a GP.

    Folks don’t kid yourself - Marijuana affects your driving. It slows your reactions, among other things. So you’ve made it home driving on it, well Whacko the Chook. I have made it home before after driving for 4days without the use of drugs, but are you really gonna tell me my judgement wasn’t impaired when I was hallucinating by the end of it all? Personally as a Professional Driver I am now having to reconsider my options as I know I can do the job sober, but not now knowing the guy coming towards me is “rattling from the pills” I am having to decide whether or not I really want to play an increased stakes game of Russian Roulette everytime I take to the roads. It’s bad enough driving around with the imbecilic actions of car drivers (You wouldn’t be aware that on average, a truck driver avoids 10 -15 accidents with car drivers every 8 hrs and subsequently saves their lives) without now having to be concerned about whether or not my mate driving towards me is awake at the wheel. In the meantime though folks, I will be sure to avoid the coast road…..

21. 21 On December 16th, 2007, Lindy Lou said:

    Hi people,

    For your interest, cannabis ‘is’ residual in the system. For how long is dependant upon how regularly it is used, the quality (either bush or hydro), and how it has been used (either smoked or ingested). It is also residual in the hair for a ‘very’ long time. U may also be in the company of smokers, although not smoking yourself, and still show a positive test, merely because u spent time passively inhaling it. So what then, dob in all your mates to save yourself?

    I understand that recent road statistics showed that the major causes of accidents were (in order) speeding,talking on mobiles whilst driving, alcohol, fatigue, and driving under the influence of drugs. The stats quoted for driving under the influence of drugs, relative to fatal accidents were 3%, something that I find rather interesting, given the fact that the penalties are severe, and, also that, if u should fail the saliva test and your sample is then sent to the lab for further testing and u will more than likely show as positive merely because cannabis is residual in your sytem, even though you are no longer under the effects of it.

    What does really concern me is the number of drug tests done ‘in blitzes’ which have been done with the co-ordination of the dept. of transport, police dept, and centrelink, as has happened in south east queensland recently. The last time i heard of centrelink’s possible involvement was in the last two weeks of the liberal party campaign when Howard announced that ‘if re-elected people convicted of drug offences would have their benefits withheld for up to twelve months’. I was not aware that this had actually been passed through parlaiment post that announcement, so why are centrelink now taking part in these blitzes with the assistance of other government departments, other than to collect names and check them out when they show a positive result?

    Reference to driving under cannabis….definately effects your reaction time, therefore, u may not be at fault in an accident, but, had u not ‘been off your pecker’ u may have stood a better chance of avoiding someone else’s error. U may also be at risk, given that cannabis also effects your concentration span, i.e. ever experienced the old ’stuck in thought’ or ‘lost in space’ syndrome?. Irrespective, the public does have the right to know what the real info is regarding these initial saliva tests, otherwise u would really have to wonder whether it is a form of easy entrapment, not by choice of the police department, but rather by direction of those in higher places. Also an interesting position for prescribing medicos if they fail to inform a patient that a prescribed medication includes a substance which could show a positive result in a random drug test, as a number do. I don’t use these substances, but it does concern me that ‘technically’ innocent people could find themselves in deep crap because there has not been enough information provided, let alone the poor buggers on benefits who will then have their payments controlled by centrelink.

22. 22 On December 16th, 2007, craig said:

    Hi Lindy Lou,
    Thanks for your comment and although I don’t condone ‘drug driving’ I find the lack of available information on the tests used very frustrating. I take Panadiene Forte daily for chronic back pain and my doctor has told me not to drive just to be on the safe side! Even he can’t tell me if I will test positive. Some information given by Qld Transport states that Panadiene Forte will not show, other info states that it is in the same class as some illicit drugs. Who knows?

23. 23 On December 16th, 2007, Lindy Lou said:

    Hi craig,

    The best advice i can give u is to seek the opinion of a senior pharmacist at one of the major chemists. While you’re at it, get their name, and the time and date that you went in and sought the info. That way, should you show a positive test result and you ‘honestly’ were not ‘using’ anything u will at least have some hope of providing supporting evidence to a court. However, my own personal thoughts are (given that I also take pain relief medication prescribed for me and stronger than what u take), should I have to take one tablet I really shouldn’t be driving for approx 6 hours. Should I need to take more than one tablet then I believe (my belief system only) that I shouldn’t be behind the wheel of a vehicle for the 24 hours following the last tablet. Realistically, driving is a priviledge, not a right as too many tend to think, and given that i have already experienced the pain of losing someone very close to me, thanks to a moron who thought he was clever in driving whilst well and truly hung over I don’t choose to be the same kind of fool in driving when I know that i really shouldn’t be. In saying that, let me also say that it does seem suspiscious that so little detailed info has been provided to the public. Again, not the fault of the police…they are just enforcing what they are told to do…they didn’t make the rules. However, given that drugs are illegal and certain levels of alcohol aren’t you can see where the escape hatch is for not providing the information. My question in that respect lies within the importance of saving lives against the importance of whether or not info should be provided for illegal substances. Makes u wonder what the real beaurocratic issues are around this, and how many people may get caught up in this situation due to a combination of legally prescribed medications that may lead to a positive result.

24. 24 On December 21st, 2007, Rita said:

    Hi
    I have a few puffs of a joint probably once every couple of months. How long should I wait before driving to avoid a positive reading on the new breath drug swab testing that is in force in QLD at the moment.
    Cheers
    Rita

25. 25 On December 21st, 2007, craig said:

    Hi Rita,
    This is one question that no-one of any authority can give us an answer for. Some are saying 12 hours some say 3 hours and some are saying it stays detectable for weeks. Most of these are just opinions I believe. I am actively seeking a qualified answer to this question, in the meantime maybe one of our readers has a definitive answer for you.

26. 26 On December 31st, 2007, Miles said:

    Drugs such as marijuana affect different people differently. Regular users can ‘learn’ the skill of driving stoned until it becomes ‘normal’ Speaking from presonal experience I was often ’super-alert’ when driving stoned. As such a blanket law is flawed from the first instance. The epidemilogy of a marajuana-accident rate will never be proven as drivers get behind the wheel under varying circumstances and under the ‘influence’ of a variety of emotions and substances.

    Of more concern is the amount of people that drive distracted, angry or who genrrally do not have any sense of their surroundings. e.g. not expecting the ‘unexpected’. I would suggest that far more incidents occur from inattention, speed and alcohol than from driving while stoned.

    Maybe an intellegence (including a spatial awareness) test should go with the standard driving test?

27. 27 On January 1st, 2008, Jessica said:

    The qld government should consider randomly roadside drug testing police. It would be interesting to see how many of our officers in blue have traces of drugs in their system that are detectable by this method of testing. Wouldn’t it be nice if the same rules applied to us all?

28. 28 On January 2nd, 2008, Dean said:

    Why just test the police test all the people who put the law in place and their family.. Its amazing how rebelling politicians Kids are out there.. I bet the law will quickly disapear :)… Police are getting to much power things needs to be fixed.. Australia has more laws in place than any other country.. how was the bloke done for drink driving for fixing his sisters car he did not even have the keys on him.. So now I guess you can get done if you have keys in your pocket and your drunk cos you have the intent to drive (while waiting at a taxi rank)… I am moving to Iran so I can have freedom

29. 29 On January 3rd, 2008, Al said:

    For me the issue is the lack of information about how to avoid driving under the influence.

    I would love to wait till all effects (and saliva traces) of pot use have cleared before driving but no information has been made available to allow me to do so.

    To compare to alcohol there have been many campaigns to tell people that 2 in the 1st hour then 1 every hour after that is about right (for men, i think thats right). I guess pot is a lot more variable in terms of potency and species etc than alcohol but surely some amount of research should have been done which could give us a worst case scenario so we can then drive safely.

    with respect to penalties they also differentiate between whether you are actually under the influence or whether you just have traces in your system. you can get a work license if your not actually under the influence which would be extremely handy to most people who get booked for this but it seems totally subjective as to whether your actually under the influence or not. the whole thing seems really half arsed.

    does anyone know anyone that works at a uni that would be up for researching effects and traces after use? i’m sure youd have no trouble finding volunteers.

30. 30 On January 5th, 2008, ralph said:

    Years ago I heard on the news about a University in Melbourne(?) 5 year study that showed you were no more likely to be involved in a fatal accident under the influence of marijuana than if you had consumed none. The results showed, only when alcohol was added or in the system did the odds go up.

31. 31 On March 29th, 2008, Polar said:

    Hi to all. Speaking from personal experience ( I have smoked marijuana daily for the past 27yrs) I, for one, do not find that driving stoned impairs my driving. If anything it stops me speeding, keeps me calm in traffic @ makes driving less stressful. Yes, of course some people will be affected differently from what I experience but according to my Doctor whom I see every month, certainly sees the benefits of marijuana & is quite happy with the fact that I no longer use any prescription drugs to alleviate pain, depression & anxiety. So I have to face the fact that I will no longer be able to drive myself once they implement this new no tolerance law & will have to rely on my straight mates, taxis, trains & buses. I personally do not know of anyone whom I know that has been swabbed. Has anyone out there been swabbed? or know for sure someone who has & has tested positive? I would be interested in finding out what happens to you once you do test positive. Yes I have read what is supposed to happen but what really does go on? It is such a grey area as there is no .05 limit. I agree with the idea of having a sobriety test, like they do in the U.S. with drink drivers. To all the smokers out there…stay safe, stay alert & stay out of trouble.

32. 32 On April 22nd, 2008, Tom said:

    Polar, I am in the same boat as you, I have smoked for 20 od years, and if you look at my driving history I have never ever in all those years had an accident that was my fault. This whole fiasco is just another revenue raising stunt. Most accidents that happen these days would accure from drivers consentrating too much on what speed they are doing, and then you get the idiots that dont need drugs or alcohol, they still manage to cause accidents out of pure stuppidity. As for the Brisbane roads, ha what a joke, even with all the proposal road plans they have, it still wont be any better. They have to start teaching drivers on the simple things on like how to merge with traffic without stopping, and a bit of defensive driving would go a long way. Pretty soon we’ll be down to a 20km speed limits, to make it safe on the roads. The bottom line is that mistakes is a natural human function, so why bother trying to save some idiots that have no idea on how to handle a vehecle, In my oppion 1 less idiot on the road is a good thing, but the gov doe’snt really care about peoples safety anyway, as I stated before its all about human greed, money, the rest of it is all pretentiouse.

33. 33 On April 28th, 2008, Michigan said:

    Its all a load. Beattie/Bligh looking like they are doing something. If they really wanted to curb the road toll they’d limit car speedometers to 100 and raise the driving age to 21. Do some research guys! Don’t just throw half arsed laws around without testing, testing and more testing. Oh, and then informing the public of the results so that we can make safe, educated decisions about when it is ok to drive.

    I don’t drink, smoke ciggarettes or take any other drugs. I just want to know its ok to have my 1 joint in the evenings. Is it?

34. 34 On May 1st, 2008, Adam said:

    Hi all,

    Its not a number of months since these laws have taken effect, has anyone been personal effected or tested lately? I have not noticed the testing being done at all since December.

    Thanks

35. 35 On July 1st, 2008, Alex said:

    About 6 months from the introduction of roadside drug tests and there’s still no real information on it being released by the government. Total bullshit.

    Anyone heard anything about how accurate QLD’s drug tests are and how long after ingestion drugs can be detected?

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