SA: Passive cannabis smokers can test positive on roadsides

AAP General News (Australia)
12-16-2004
SA: Passive cannabis smokers can test positive on roadsides

ADELAIDE, Dec 16 AAP - Passive inhalation of cannabis smoke could lead to positive
results from roadside drug tests, a test supplier said today.

d:tec Australia, which provides drug and alcohol tests to workplaces, said people who
tested positive for cannabis in the roadside tests may not have taken the drug.

World-first random roadside drug tests of motorists were staged in Victoria last week
in the start of a year-long trial.

The test detects THC, which is the active component in marijuana, and methamphetamines,
or speed, in saliva.

Drivers provide a sample by touching their tongue on an absorbent collector and results
develop in five minutes.

"Research has shown that a person who has passively inhaled cannabis smoke can show
a positive result in a saliva test for up to 30 minutes post-exposure," d:tec Australia
national account manager Andrew Leibie said today.

"As a result, people who test positive for cannabis use in a roadside saliva test may
not have been actively smoking the drug themselves."

He said the research was presented to an International Association of Forensic Toxicology
conference in Washington earlier this year.

AAP sl/cjh/sd

KEYWORD: DRUG TEST

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