A third of region’s drivers test ‘false positive’ after roadside

[MongyMan]

http://www.echo.net.au/2015/07/a-third-of-regions-drivers-test-false-positive-after-roadside-swipes/

A third of region’s drivers test ‘false positive’ after roadside swipes

http://www.echo.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/testing-640x480.jpg

NSW police conducting roadside testing in Lismore. (Darren Coyne)

Darren Coyne

More than a third of northern rivers drivers who tested positive to roadside drug tests in a recent statewide police operation were deemed ‘false positives’ after re-testing again in mobile buses.

That’s according to figures obtained by the Echonetdaily this week, following Operation Saturation, a statewide initiative between the NSW Centre for Road Safety and the Traffic and Highway Patrol Command.

The operation began on 9 June 2015 and ran until 6 July 2015.

Upon its completion, NSW Police issued a media release detailing some of the results of the operation.

Acting assistant commissioner Stuart Smith of the Traffic and Highway Patrol Command was quoted saying the main focus of the operation were ‘those speeding, drink or drug driving, distracted by a mobile phone, and not wearing a seatbelt or proper helmet’.

Given the recent controversial introduction of widespread roadside drug testing in the northern rivers area, Echonetdaily requested a breakdown of the drug-driving arrests.

After initially being told the figures were unavailable, a spokesman finally provided figures for the Richmond and Byron/Tweed Local Area Commands.

Statewide figures have not yet been provided.

The figures showed that during the month-long campaign, a total of 1,376 drug swabs were administered.

Of those, 174 drivers were deemed to be positive once tested again in the mobile testing bus.

http://www.echo.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Drager-Drugtest5000-640x640.jpg

No, it’s not a coffee capsule machine, it’s the new Drager Drug Test 5000 being used by police in the northern rivers. (file pic)

But the figures also showed that 72 drivers, who initially tested positive to the drug wipe, were then deemed to be ‘false positives’ when tested again in the bus.

A spokesman from NSW Police media contacted the Echonetdaily this morning asking that the false positive figures be withheld from publication as those results were still subject to further testing in a laboratory.

Echonetdaily refused the request.

Lismore solicitor Steve Bolt said the ‘great mischief’ was that the testing regime was picking up very low levels of THC.

‘To test positive then negative it may be that there is THC in your saliva but possibly only a trace,’ he said.

‘That’s consistent with recent cases of people telling the court that they hadn’t smoked for a number of days.

‘So people are being charged on the basis of THC being detected but not on whether there is impairment.

‘That charge would be driving under the influence of a drug.’

‘This law and testing should be about road safety and it’s not. People are being punished just by having to go to court.

‘There are also issues of people being unfairly targeted because police don’t require any particular reason to stop the car so the term random is unfortunate,’ Mr Bolt said.

Echonetdaily has spoken with a number of drivers who have been subjected to roadside drug testing, have returned positive results, but claim to have not smoked cannabis for days.

Some drivers have then been pulled over again within days for a ‘random’ test.

One driver, visiting from South Australia, who asked to remain anonymous, was recently put off the road for 24 hours after testing positive.

About a week later, the same driver was again pulled over for a drug test after being followed by a highway patrol car, which had been heading in the opposite direction.

The driver asked the police officer whether his vehicle had been flagged as a result of the previous test, and claims that the officer finally admitted that it had.

The driver refused another test, admitting to the officer that he used cannabis tincture for an injured back, and was allowed to proceed without being tested.

The NSW Greens party recently put a freedom of information request to NSW Police in an attempt to determine the science behind the testing regime.

The Hemp Embassy at Nimbin has also been highly critical of the testing regime, saying it unfairly targeted cannabis users.

Hemp Embassy president Michael Balderstone said people were angry because the new drug testing equipment being used was extremely sensitive and detected cannabis traces days after use, regardless of whether the driver was impaired or not.

The testing devices do not detect opiates or pharmaceutical medications, which are known to impair driving.

‘They trebled this roadside testing to catch ice. But how many dolphins (cannabis users) are being caught in their shark nets?

‘We need an urgent inquiry into this testing. No other country is testing like this. In fact in states overseas where cannabis has been legalized, there has been a 10 per cent drop in car accidents, as well as alcohol use.’

‘We’re the easy bust. It’s easily the least harmful and safest and people are using other drugs that they won’t get tested for.’

Echonetdaily has requested an interview with the officer in charge of Operation Saturation.

[brick]

One of the side effects of one particular pill I take for my heart, have stated on the net that it can cause a positive test for THC. So I keep the print out in my car.

[Matanuska Thunder]

a bit of a follow up

 

http://www.echo.net.au/2015/07/greens-slam-police-response-to-drug-testing-questions/

 

Greens slam police response to drug-testing questions

Darren Coyne

NSW police are unable to back their multi-million drug driving strategy with any evidence that shows how the levels they test for relate to impaired driving, according to the NSW Greens.

Greens MP David Shoebridge recently lodged a freedom of information request with NSW Police aimed at revealing the ‘science’ behind the drug-testing regime.

Along with medicinal cannabis campaigners in the region, he was less than impressed with the result.

‘Nobody would be satisfied with the partial and censored material produced by the NSW police in response to our FOI on drug testing,’ Mr Shoebridge said.

‘We are appealing their decision in order to get access to uncensored documents and a far more complete set of materials to understand what, if any, rational basis the NSW police have for their current drug testing regime.

The Echonetdaily reported this week that when asked about minimum threshold amounts being tested, NSW Police said ‘advice received from the Traffic Policy Section that the NSWPF holds no documents or other materials’ that would satisfy the request.

Police gave the same response to questions relating to whether the tests detected hemp products such as hemp oil and hemp seeds, and whether the tests detected prescription drugs such as methadone and benzodiazapines.

In response to questions about research or studies showing a relationship between a driver’s impairment and the presence of detectable illicit substances in saliva, police said research and studies relied upon by police were ‘drawn from published scientific journals that exist in the public domain’.

Police also admitted they held no documents or research regarding the length of time that cannabis would remain in saliva, and how long it could potentially impair driving.

Mr Shoebridge said drivers impaired by drugs should not be allowed behind the wheel of a car.

But he said the Greens supported evidence-based policies.

‘The Greens support evidenced-based policing that detects and punishes drug impaired drivers on the roads.

‘However that doesn’t seem to be what we have in NSW.

‘What is not right is an arbitrary policy that seems to be punishing drivers without any credible evidence that their driving is impaired.

‘Remarkably, the NSW Police are unable to back their multi-million dollar drug driving scheme with any evidence that shows how the levels they test for relates to impaired driving.

Critics of the testing regime have long argued that the tests are picking up minute traces of THC, while ignoring prescription drugs known to impair a driver’s abilty.

They also argue that the consumption of hemp seed, oil, or medical marijuana products could result in positive results, despite a changing of the political landscape which is increasingly recognising the benefits of medical marijuana.

The Echonetdaily reported last week that a third of drivers subjected to road-side drug testing in the northern rivers during a recent road safety campaign, who were found to be positive, then tested negative when taken to the testing bus.

[old toke]

I also take a med that is notorious for false positive in a urine test but not a mouth swab.

[Sir PsychoHashy]

The problem is fucking politics again. 

 

It's common knowledge that a large section of the road using community indulge in the now mainstream drug cannabis on at least a semi regular basis, so pollies and coppers know that too.  It's also common knowledge that traces of canna stay in your system long after the effects wear off.  And, the false positives thrown up by the roadside tests have been known about for a long time.

 

Politicians want to be seen to be tough on crime, and career coppers want to keep the pollies happy in order to further their careers.  Canna is so common these days that finding opportunities for a quick bust with evidence to satisfy the courts is easy as piss, so it's an obvious conclusion that canna related busts are going to be a favourite of those 2 stakeholders.  So we end up with coppers taking the easy busts while not bothering to put an effort into serious crimes, drug dog squads popping up at railway stations and music festivals etc, and a simplified cannabis caution system set up in NSW at least which gains a crime fighting statistic with minimal time and effort from the coppers, and no real motivation for the busted party to fight it in the courts.  All a quick simple way to push conviction statistics up so career coppers can further their careers and pollies can show numbers to prove they are being tough on crime.  IMO this is also one of the biggest barriers to cannabis law reform happening in our country, can you imagine what would happen to criminal conviction statistics if they took canna out of the mix?

 

So it shouldn't be a surprise to find that the NSW government and police have decided to crack down on drug driving, nor should it be a surprise that they have written up the legislation so that it's not about driving under the influence, but merely having it in your system.  A blatant piece of legislation designed to work the problems with their system into an increased number of convictions. 

 

Research has been done that shows levels in blood tests in comparison to impairment and time since consumption (can't be bothered tracking it down to reference it, but found it from link posted on this site from memory), so it is possible to set benchmarks for impairment and conviction.  That might not completely and accurately cover every persons individual case, but at least if would put some fairness into the system, and make it about road safety instead of political gain.  I'm tempted to add revenue raising, but can't help thinking that the costs involved outweigh the revenue from the fines imposed.

 

Now, I know I'm in conflict with some stoners on this, but I am all in favour of people getting done for driving under the influence, it puts innocent peoples lives at risk.  I agree it's nothing like the risk of alcohol, or many other drugs including prescription meds, and I also agree that in some ways it can make you a better driver, but it impairs reaction time in emergency situations, so it's wrong and on that basis I support it being policed, but only if it's for cases of actually being impaired, which it ain't under the current legislation.  It's taking licences off innocent people and giving them criminal convictions, which is doing more harm in the community than us sweet innocent stoners have ever done, and that's also wrong.

 

Rant over

[lookinggoodguys]

Your quite a good writer mr psychoHashy...you should do some work for some canna groups and organisations newspapers to put the truth out there in the real world...

[Sir PsychoHashy]

Your quite a good writer mr psychoHashy...you should do some work for some canna groups and organisations newspapers to put the truth out there in the real world...

 

Thanks for the ego boost, but nah.  Even I re read some of my rants and think they come across a little bit paranoic conspiracy theorist sometimes, and whilst I try to inject knowledge and fact as much as I can, I have to admit that there is a LOT of opinion and gut feeling at times, even if it is based on history and logic.  My world view has also been shaped by shows like Yes Minister and The Wire, which might not necessarilly be an accurate source of information about real world politics.

 

But then again, right wing shock jocks don't tend to bother too much with fact and reality, and just shout out their opinions and drown out anything to the contrary, so maybe I could start up a left wing greenie stoner radio show , Bongs & Bullshit with Sir Psychohashy on JJJ, do you reckon they'd go for it?

 

I do however, believe that there is a high degree of reality to my 1st post, even though I haven't got the evidence to necessarilly back it up, so it is only an opinion.

Edited July 22, 2015 by Sir PsychoHashy

[MediKat]

 Bongs & Bullshit with Sir Psychohashy on JJJ, do you reckon they'd go for it? it's all about timing, quite possible id say. Flick them a proposal.