WHEN random breath testing was introduced to NSW in the middle of Christmas party season 33 years ago, it helped spark a seismic shift in the state’s drinking culture.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Roadside drug testing will hopefully do the same.
Drug testing has seeped into many facets of our life, including in the workplace and on the sporting field.
It follows that it becomes part of the roadside testing regime.
When you climb behind the wheel of a vehicle, you take possession of a deadly weapon.
Too many innocent people are slain on our roads to allow others to drive high as a kite with impunity.
That we have a problem in Wagga is writ large in the figures from a recent drug-driving operation in the city.
Over nine days, 150 drivers tested positive to illicit substances, including marijuana, ice, heroin, cocaine and ecstasy.
The hit rate was less than one in four, a figure that should sit in our minds like a shard of glass.
Alarmingly, the hit rate is far higher than the drink-driving hit rate.
That drug-driving poses a grave threat to us all is a given.
Studies show the likelihood of impairment due to drugs is up to three times higher than alcohol.
It’s a sobering fact and one that should jolt us all into action.
Just weeks ago, Wagga made national headlines for being the site of a massive ice bust.
The number of drug users and dealers fronting a magistrate in Wagga is chronicled with regularity in the pages of this newspaper.
You don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to see drug use is rife in our city.
Unlike alcohol consumption, it’s happening behind closed doors.
But it’s still happening.
The challenge for us as a community is to be vigilant and educated.
Vigilant about possible drug dealing in our neighbourhoods and educated about the real dangers of drugs.
Changing the city’s drug taking culture won’t be easy, but the first step is to admit there is a problem.
