(Source-Daily Examiner-Australia)
A POLICE operation has revealed that one in 38 truck drivers to be driving under the influence of drugs.
The statistic comes from the results of a three-day roadside drug testing blitz run by police.
Most of the truck drivers pleaded guilty.
As the test only screened for THC (marijuana) and methamphetamine, the actual number of drivers using drugs improperly is likely much higher.
The abuse of prescription drugs is the number one threat across most of the world according to international drug councils.
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2 responses so far ↓
ray brettman // January 11, 2009 at 4:07 am |
Although not a truck driver I have considered it. And I have been a regular marijuana user since 71. The scales are so unfairly weighed against marijuana smokers, for which you may well be registering a positive for what, six weeks after the fact? I can count the days I missed at work in the financial markets for 27 yrs on one hand, sometimes there in a considerable line of fire, say, a record volume day, subbing for people who could not make it into work because they were drinking and or on coke all night. One of those is legal, and the other quite some little bit more dangerous than weed, but happily for users of it its gone in what, one day? Surely in this time when we can put devices on Mars for reasons somewhat unclear, a device can be devised to take a little bit of the demonization away from marijuana smokers, something that can read if you are stoned now, not 4 wks ago this past Tuesday. Am I the only one of tens of millions of US pot smokers who considers this a true outrage? I mean why is this ok and how is that that this makes sense? Just how many more deaths do you suppose alcohol is responsible for on the highways or other machinery. I wil bet alcohol would be guilty of over 200 times as many highway deaths, I won’t even start on the wonders it can work on families.
pcholakis // January 13, 2009 at 3:30 pm |
Hello Ray,
I agree with you 100%. Evidence for the most part indicated that Marijuana use is similar to alcohol use from that aspect that, using at home and/or not while driving or in some other safety sensitive role, will NOT affect performance.
Oral fluid testing ONLY recent drug use and is thus far superior to, as well more appropriate for workplace drug testing. For most drugs there is also a correlation between the concentration of drugs found in oral fluid and the concentration found in blood. Clearly the concentration found in blood is the most closely related to impairment. There is NO relationship between the concentration of metabolites found in urine to that found in blood.
Lastly, I also agree that there are far more serious problems relative to truckers and substance abuse…… I would rank as follows.
1. Prescription drug misuse / abuse
2. Alcohol
3. Meth, cocaine
4. other
One might dispute the order of #1 and #2, but prescription drug misuse is the number one threat worldwide (per international studies).
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