SA Police not prosecuting drivers under influence of ecstacy

[4.9 EF Futura]

Well i thought it was a little hard to believe??

For those abroad of our fair state - as of 1/07/2006, police will be conducting random drug tests on South Australian roads. It is the same saliva test used by our victorian counterparts. It is capable of accurately decting THC (active ingredient of dope), methamphetamine and ecstacy.

However, only drivers testing positive to THC/meth will have a further sample taken for the purposes of issuing an infringement. This is the same test which Victorian police will be using to catch people driving under the influence of ecstacy (in addition to THC/meth) as at 1/07/2006.

Is it just me or is that ridiculous? Those who test positive to ecstacy will go free. Ecstacy, a drug which is believed to kill one australian every forthnight - with around 1/3rd of those deaths occuring as a result of a car accident.

If i had to choose - i'd rather be sharing the road with someone hepped up on speed than i would someone out of their mind on Ecstacy (which im sure has a much newer street name than when i was a teenager).

So.... time for the potheads of Adelaide to put down their bongs and pop some pills? Based on the ridiculous exclusion of the drug from testing - it would appear that's the legally responsible way to go.

Unbelievable!

[BA_Turbs]

Without being an expert on the matter, it may be the accuracy of the test that has caused the cautious approach? It was fairly well publicised in Vic that they are a VERY broad indicator. Drug buses have been on the roads for over a year now, and no figures released (well, flaunted in the media anyway. How would we know if they had been released unless the Herald Sun gets onto 'em) on how many drug affected drivers have been caught and successfully prosecuted.

[BA_Turbs]

PS - I don't know if I made it clear in my previous post, I am against driving whilst under the influence of any substance which reduces your ability to drive, be legal or illegal.

[GT-E]

The biggest problem is the lenght of time these drugs are in your system.
THC will stay in your blood for 6 months and a regular user would show up on police testing 2 weeks after their last hit, so technically they are not under the influence.
I bet they just use these detection methods to confiorm if someone is stoned.
If someone looked and acted normal, it would be difficlut to prosacute someone when they have not used any drugs for a few days.

[all4ford]

I agree with ZapXR6T, that it most likely to do with the accuracy of the test. IMO ecstasy is by far the worst of the three to drive on as it has the biggest physical effect on the user, including hallucinations and impaired vision. This will probably get me flamed but I tend to think that amphetemines is relatively safe to drive on as the driver is extremely alert and highly unlikely to suffer from any fatigue related factors. As for marijuana, I believe that regular users (which aren't uncommon these days, unfortunately) drive almost exactly the same as they would if they weren't on anything, as for those users it has become normal to be under the influence. However, for those who use on occassion, they are highly effected by the THC, and IMO are at higher risk of causing injury to themselves or others whilst behind the wheel under influence.

[Walkinshaw]

meh, im shooting heroin in my eye from now on.

[4.9 EF Futura]

Originally Posted by ZapXR6T

The biggest problem is the lenght of time these drugs are in your system.
THC will stay in your blood for 6 months and a regular user would show up on police testing 2 weeks after their last hit, so technically they are not under the influence.
I bet they just use these detection methods to confiorm if someone is stoned.
If someone looked and acted normal, it would be difficlut to prosacute someone when they have not used any drugs for a few days.

The information booklet that i had claimed that the tests would detect the presence of such substances for hours after use - but not days. I guess the sample taken at the bus/police station can confirm exactly how recent the consumption was.

[loxxr6]

This will probably get me flamed but I tend to think that amphetemines is relatively safe to drive on as the driver is extremely alert and highly unlikely to suffer from any fatigue related factors.

Mild amounts of amphetamines have shown to make drivers more responsive.

The biggest problem is the lenght of time these drugs are in your system.

Exactly, what happens if you get tested and the stuff is in your system still when you never did anything that day ?

[XRated]

Originally Posted by 4.9 EF Futura

If i had to choose - i'd rather be sharing the road with someone hepped up on speed than i would someone out of their mind on Ecstacy (which im sure has a much newer street name than when i was a teenager).

It's funny you say that, a lot of ecstacy pills have as much as 40-50% speed in them anyway.

If I had to choose, I'd rather be sharing the road with someone who had popped a pill rather than someone who'd sucked down a few cones or a joint.

The difficult part of this, is someone might have used a substance several weeks ago and get pulled up for "being under the influence." I guess the only way to be safe is not to use anything full-stop.

[pennybrain]

I think the majority of people on the road at 4am saturday and sunday morning are loaded up with drugs. Well especially here in Canberra. Someone crashed head on into a truck last year at about 6am and died instantly and it was later released that the driver had a lethal dose of drugs in his system (although the car crash killed them and not the drugs!) and he was driving home from a big night out on the town.

[all4ford]

Originally Posted by XRated

It's funny you say that, a lot of ecstacy pills have as much as 40-50% speed in them anyway.

This is true, but in my opinion these are not "real" ecstasy pills. "Real" ecstasy contains MDMA which as stated previously can cause hallucinations and impaired vision due to it being a psychoactive drug.

[gozza]

you don't really hallucinate on pills....you can get eye wobbles and fuziness

if someone is a regular pot user you wouldn't probly even know it by looking at them...i WAS a frequent dope smoker in the last year of high school and after smoking for a while you don't get "stoned"...you just have a feeling of contentness

i would be worried about pill users as when your on pills you feel like you can do anything...thus pushing the envelope and crashing

[XRQTOR]

Originally Posted by all4ford

This is true, but in my opinion these are not "real" ecstasy pills. "Real" ecstasy contains MDMA which as stated previously can cause hallucinations and impaired vision due to it being a psychoactive drug.

Correct real ecstasy is MDMA but 7o% of pills sold/consumed in australia are locals which are speed based.

And what is one of the main ingredients in speed, which is also legally available in any chemist.

[all4ford]

Originally Posted by gozza

you don't really hallucinate on pills....you can get eye wobbles and fuziness

I didn't mean hallucinations in the sense of big pink elephants or anything he he, but more in the sense of what you are saying.

Originally Posted by XRQTOR

Correct real ecstasy is MDMA but 7o% of pills sold/consumed in australia are locals which are speed based.

Not all locals are speed based, but majority are, hence the bad name they generally have.

Originally Posted by XRQTOR

And what is one of the main ingredients in speed, which is also legally available in any chemist.

Pseudoephedrine found in medications is in very minimal doses. People manufacturing these drugs need to buy boxes and boxes of the cold and flu tablets such as Sudafed or Codral, to be able to manufacture a decent amount of drugs and doing so is extremely difficult and DANGEROUS. These days it is a lot harder as well, as chemists require you to present ID for products containing this substance and you are therefore limited to how many you can purchase.

[gozza]

Originally Posted by all4ford

I didn't mean hallucinations in the sense of big pink elephants or anything he he, but more in the sense of what you are saying.

.

no worries man...i wasn't trying to be a hair splitter....just theres people on the forum who may of read that and thought about pink elephants lol

[Bobman]

Well it should raise alarm bells if that many people are or did take drugs within a 6 week period.

I know personally of two people I used to associate with at work who had caused serious car accidents due to their drug induced state.

I am again'st people deliberately abusing their bodies then being a burden on the health system.

[ON_DUBS]

[Bobman]

Lol exactly.

If its still in your system. Tough luck as far as anyone with a level head is concerned, if your into that sort of stuff then you will expect the hassles if going through a drug bus.