Cannabis - Did You Say Drunk Driving Or Drug Driving?

2009.05.03

Drug driving is fast becoming the new buzzword within the confines of the law in several countries. Australia is not keeping a silent voice in this matter. In fact, back in 2006 they incorporated legislation for random drug testing. Naturally, this gave the Police the authority to enforce the legislation and they were provided with the means to do so. The law went so far as to permit blood testing if a car crash amounted in a fatality or a high probability of such. It wasn’t a choice the Police were to make it was mandatory.

Actions such as this certainly put the pot users in a much more serious light. Although it must be remembered that weed is only one of the many drugs that the testing was implemented for. Although not thought to be near as serious as the hard drugs it never the less is still illegal and subject to drug testing.

In the case of the fatalities, the driver is automatically arrested in order to be taken for blood testing to see if there are any types of drugs showing in the bloodstream including hash.

The random testing for drugs works on the same premise as the test used for alcohol. This drug test will show Cannabis, ecstasy or amphetamine levels in the blood. The test is simple to perform and simple to do. The individual is required to lick a test pad, which will then show positive or negative. If it shows positive then the individual is given a further test that is carried out in a police vehicle that has special drug testing equipment.

Once this happens if the second test is positive there is no way the driver is going to be able to drive the car for 24 hours. That’s not the end of either. The second sample that was taken is sent away for further testing. If this test also comes back positive then the offender is going to get a court appearance notice. If found guilty they will most likely lose their drivers license. Once ask to ask if the weed is worth it. Individuals who smoke marijuana now doesn’t even need to have the items like hash pipes, bongs or bubble bags on them to infer they are guilty. The same with the grass, as the test is going to reveal all.

The law here firmly believes that driving judgment is impaired by the drugs even the weed, so they do not look upon this offence lightly.

The drug testing results have shown that when a individual smokes a joint then the THC concentration level supercedes over 70 nanograms and perhaps up to a 100. However though it has been indicated that the nanograms drop rapidly down to about 20.

Another interesting factor the test has shown that if a joint is used and the individual has a blood alcohol level of 0.04 then the combination gives a reading of 0.140 raising the risk factor of an accident by 48.