Club, work testing unlikely to lower ice demand
The chairman of the Northern Territory’s parliamentary inquiry into crystal methamphetamine, Nathan Barrett MP, has advocated for random drug testing of private and public sector workers as well as nightclub goers. Mr Barrett also noted a preference for civil penalties, such as fines, over criminal charges for users who test positive.
When asked by The Conversation to clarify what exactly he was calling for, Mr Barrett said by email:
I would like to see hair follicle tests become the industry standard. It is able to provide clarity for a longer period of time on use of illicit substances… To be clear, I have doubt that punitive measures will ever effect addicts behaviour… If we can disrupt the market at the functional and recreational end, we can affect price and access at the dependent end of the spectrum.
Mr Barrett added that he would like to see more discussion of mandating fines for marijuana use, but would not support the decriminalisation of ice.
In fact, it is unlikely that drug testing in workplaces and at nightclubs will have any discernible impact on rates of use.
However, decriminalisation of drug use is at least associated with the reduction of legal-related harms and possibly rates of use in the community.
How does drug testing work?
Roadside drug testing is the most common form of illicit drug testing but employees in high-risk workplaces, such as mining, transport and construction, also sometimes face random drug tests at work.
Roadside drug testing operates in a similar way to random breath testing for alcohol, but uses a mouth swab that collects saliva for analysis. Other common methods for random testing include hair analysis, blood tests and urine testing. Unlike random breath testing, samples from saliva, hair blood and urine generally need to be analysed by a laboratory.
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One of the problems with drug testing as an indicator of use is the detection time. Methamphetamine, for example, can be detected in saliva and blood for up to 12 hours, in urine for up to five days after use and in the hair up to 90 days after use.
This means that users may return a positive test, depending on the type of test used, even when they have no drugs in their system or have not used for some time.
You can read the rest of this article on The Conversation.
Nicole Lee is Associate Professor at the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA) at Flinders University.
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