Newsbrief:
World's
First
Random
Drug
Test
of
Drivers
Results
in
World's
First
Random
Drugged
Driver
Bust
and
Threat
of
World's
First
Lawsuit
Against
the
Practice
12/17/04
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/367/firsts.shtml
The world's first program
to randomly drug test drivers got underway in the Australian state of Victoria
Monday, and it scored its first victim within 15 minutes, according to
Australian press reports. Under the experimental program, police
can stop motorists at will and force them to submit to a saliva test for
cannabis and methamphetamines. Those found with the drugs in their
systems will be fined in a scheme parallel to drunk driving punishments.
But unlike drunk driving laws, which set a limit above which the driver
is presumed to be impaired, the drugged driving campaign punishes drivers
for having any amount of the drugs in question in their systems, whether
or not impairment is proven.
The fourth driver tested
in metropolitan Melbourne, 39-year-old John De Jong, tested positive for
both methamphetamines and marijuana and was cited. A positive test
result is forwarded to a laboratory for confirmation. If the lab
confirms the positive result, De Jong will be fined $228.
De Jong, who claimed he had
not smoked pot for more than a month, was not happy, and neither was his
attorney. "My client's rights have clearly been violated," said Solicitor
Katalin Blond. "He's arrived home from work to find his children
and family in tears, having seen his face plastered across the television,"
she told ABC Radio. De Jong is considering bringing lawsuits for
defamation and breach of privacy, she added.
Of 32 drivers randomly tested
Monday, De Jong was the only one to return a positive result, Victoria
police said. But there will be more. Police said they plan
to test 9,000 drivers in the state during the next year. They will
target trucking corridors and "areas known for rave parties," a police
spokesman told the publication The Age.
-- END --
Issue #367
-- 12/17/04
Editorial:
He
Would
Not
Torture
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Dr.
Hurwitz
Convicted
on
50
Counts,
Faces
Life
in
Prison
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DEA
Blocks
Private
Marijuana
Research
Grow,
Path
to
FDA
Approval
|
DRCNet
Interview:
Member
of
the
British
Parliament
Paul
Flynn
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Investigative
Journalist,
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Author
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at
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49
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and
the
Media"
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Ayahuasca
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Supreme
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to
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Exchange
Programs
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Newsbrief:
Reefer
Madness
Threatens
Hawkeye
State,
Iowa
Drug
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Warns
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Family
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in
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Walker
Killing
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to
Challenge
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Decision
Protecting
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Possession
by
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Newsbrief:
This
Week's
Corrupt
Cops
Stories
|
Newsbrief:
British
Government
Tripping
on
Magic
Mushroom
Policy
|
Newsbrief:
World's
First
Random
Drug
Test
of
Drivers
Results
in
World's
First
Random
Drugged
Driver
Bust
and
Threat
of
World's
First
Lawsuit
Against
the
Practice
|
Newsbrief:
Efforts
to
Suppress
Swaziland
Marijuana
Crop
Founder
on
Poverty,
Medical
Need,
UN
Says
|
Newsbrief:
Islamic
Militants
Kill
Russian
Drug
Cops,
Claim
They
Were
Dealers
|
Web
Scan:
Afghan
Poppies,
European
Hep
C
|
Apply
Now
to
Intern
at
DRCNet!
|
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at
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