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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Letter: Testing time ahead over use of drugs - by Don Barnard
Don Barnard Evening News, Norwich
Wednesday 09 Aug 2000 Testing time ahead over use of drugs YOUR report on Friday, August 4, about police testing drivers for drug use at first glance seems like a good idea. However, aside from the fact that there is no real evidence to show that cannabis-users are more susceptible to accidents than non-users, it is also questionable whether a positive drug-screening test is precise enough to supply the formal proof needed for prosecutions, such as driving under the influence of cannabis. Due to the varying rates at which drug metabolites can appear in an individual's blood, proving impairment through taking any drug is far from clear-cut. Cannabis metabolites can be detected in the urine for up to 90 days after use. Any standard levels of presumptive impairment for cannabis become meaningless in practical application. There are also several causes of inaccurate readings, including problems of interfering substances. Codeine tests positive for metabolised opiates for up to four days after use. Poppy seeds found on seeded bread test for opiates for up to 60 hours. Cannabis seed oil is recognised as causing false positive test results for cannabis. Further, drug tests provide no evidence or information as to their effects on an individual's ability or performance. They cannot establish the date or time of use and an individual can test positive for illegal substance use without consuming them. This raises both social and legal issues, if drug tests cannot prove or disprove the offence of using drugs or of impairment through drug use. Is this a road safety measure or a new strategy in the war on drugs? Have the police been ordered to pursue and identify more and more substance-users? Whatever, we are surely in for a testing time. Don Barnard Aetheric Road Braintree
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