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Drug TestingThis page collects news stories about drug testing in the workplace and on the roads, in New Zealand and internationally. All the stories about drug testing in schools can be found in the Not Cool in Schools category.
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News stories
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Posted by norml on Saturday, April 05 2008 (311 reads)
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 Waikato Times, Sat 5 April 2008.
By Geoff Taylor. Contact: editor@waikato-times.co.nz
Is Random Drug Testing An Essential For Workplace Safety Or Is It An Unnecessary Intrusion Into Workers' Lives?
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(Read More | 13780 bytes |   | Score: 0)
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Posted by norml on Tuesday, October 02 2007 (1621 reads)
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 Although scientific research indicates that cannabis actually has far less impact on the psychomotor skills needed for driving than alcohol does, and is seldom a causal factor in car crashes, the National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) supports safe driving behaviour and promotes a set of "Principles for Responsible Cannabis Use", which includes "no driving".
However, NORML has some serious concerns regarding drug testing drivers.
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(Read More | 3066 bytes | | Score: 3.33)
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Posted by norml on Thursday, January 12 2006 (4679 reads)
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HAVE YOU ALREADY experienced the delight of peeing in a jar for the scrutiny of white coats? Perhaps you have successfully beaten a urine test with the help of a lucky rabbits foot or cunning chemical masker. Maybe you have never been tested but had to turn down the perfect job when asked for the pre-employment pee.
Note: NORML News, Summer 2005
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(Read More | 7188 bytes | | Score: 4.46)
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Posted by norml on Sunday, July 17 2005 (4017 reads)
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Sunday Star-Times, 17 July 2005
By GARY BIRKETT
New Zealand Sports Drug Agency executive director Graeme Steel wants Wada, the world anti-doping agency, to wipe cannabis from its banned list so it can concentrate on catching "cheats" who use performance-enhancing drugs such as steroids, human-growth hormones and EPO.
"We don't want to be seen as social police," Steel told the Sunday Star-Times.
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(Read More | 3976 bytes | | Score: 5)
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Posted by drstuey on Monday, October 04 2004 (3940 reads)
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(Read More | 11008 bytes | | Score: 4.5)
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Posted by norml on Thursday, July 01 2004 (4620 reads)
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New Zealand police have begun a voluntary trial of officers at drink-driving checkpoints judging whether drivers are impaired by drugs reports NORML News Winter 2004.
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(Read More | 1623 bytes | | Score: 4.55)
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Posted by norml on Thursday, July 01 2004 (4832 reads)
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The Employment Court has banned random drug testing of all Air New Zealand workers, but given the airline the right to drug test workers in "safety-sensitive" areas reports NORML News Winter 2004.
The landmark case confirms the present situation where pre-employment, safety-related, and post-accident testing is allowed, but random testing of any worker, at any time, is not allowed.
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(Read More | 1403 bytes | | Score: 5)
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Posted by norml on Monday, May 10 2004 (3911 reads)
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Police have begun a voluntary trial of officers at drink-driving checkpoints judging whether drivers are impaired by drugs, and they also want to change the law to make prosecution easier.
Police bosses want the law changed so that driving while "impaired" by legal or illegal drugs is banned (the current law bans driving while "incapable"), but they have proposed different penalties depending on the legal status of the drug. A driver thought to be "impaired" by cannabis will be treated more harshly than a driver who is just as impaired on prescription drugs such as morphine or amphetamines or the legal drug alcohol.
Drivers will be asked to:
* Walk in a straight line.
* Stand on one leg.
* Hold their heads back and touch their noses.
* Close their eyes and estimate 30 seconds.
NORML advises:
* Refuse to perform the test - this is a completely voluntary trial so don't incriminate yourself;
* Practise these tasks so you can perform them if you ever have to;
* Stand up to this blatant erosion of your rights! This is not about safety, it is about giving police more powers to decide who is acceptable (to them) and who should be locked up.
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(Read More | 10097 bytes | | Score: 4.85)
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Posted by drstuey on Thursday, April 15 2004 (3848 reads)
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 NORML were mentioned in the press pointing out the problems with the planned new driver impairment tests.
A group of 32 officers will be "specially trained" this month to use subjective measures to detect drivers on drugs, such as pupil dilation and physical coordination, in preparation for a three to six-month trial expected to begin in June. The NZ regions to be included in the trial have yet to be decided, but Northland, Waikato and Canterbury are picked to be the likely testing spots.
NORML president Chris Fowlie told NZPA "Our big concern is that there will be potentially biased officers taking a very subjective assessment of a driver."
The police claim the assessments will be "95 per cent" accurate - even if that is true, what about the other 5 percent that will be falsely accused?
 23/01/04 Driver drug testing to be trialled this year
 16/4/04 Otago Daily Times: Drug-Testing Plan Flawed, NORML Says
15/4/04 New Zealand Herald: Cannabis group attacks driver tests
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(Read More | 6499 bytes | | Score: 5)
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Posted by drstuey on Thursday, April 15 2004 (3893 reads)
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The Employment Court has banned random drug testing of all Air New Zealand workers, but given the airline the right to drug test workers in "safety-sensitive" areas.
The landmark case confirms the present situation where pre-employment, safety-related, and post-accident testing is allowed, but random testing of any worker, at any time, is not allowed.
What is allowed
* Random tests of workers in "safety-sensitive areas".
* No random testing of other workers.
* Tests of any worker suspected of taking drugs whose behaviour is or could be harmful.
* Tests of any workers involved in an accident or near-miss.
* Tests before employment.
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(Read More | 4361 bytes | | Score: 4.33)
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Posted by drstuey on Friday, January 23 2004 (3947 reads)
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The police have confirmed that drug testing of drivers will be trialled this year. The trials will run in several districts at once for between three and six months, with the Waikato and Christchurch understood to be possible locations.
Police at roadside checkpoints will examine drivers' pupil dilation and those suspected of having used drugs would have to do co-ordination tests like walking in a straight line. Drivers who police suspect of using drugs will be taken to hospital for further tests.
Green MP Nandor Tanczos pointed out that
“Drug tests currently available can only prove if someone has used cannabis at some point in the past, and there is nothing to indicate if a driver was actually impaired at the time they were stopped.”
 22/01/04 ‘Drugged driver’ study meaningless and risky
23/01/04 Police To Trial Drug Testing Of Drivers
 23/01/04 United Future: Nandor defends dopey drivers
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(Read More | | Score: 5)
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Posted by drstuey on Sunday, December 07 2003 (3530 reads)
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The Sunday Star Times reported that roadside drug testing could be closer. The government is expected this week to announce its intention to make it an offence to drive "while impaired by a drug".
The new rule would allow police to judge whether a driver was impaired by such traditional measures as asking them to walk in a straight line - and
if they seemed impaired, to then commission a saliva or blood test.
Police are yet to report back on whether a controversial saliva swab test being trialled in Australian state Victoria can be used effectively at roadside police stops here.
Swain's new law is also expected to lower drink-driving limits, toughen enforcement of speeding, and crack down on recidivist offenders. Swain is hoping to make a policy announcement this week, so the bill could be drafted and passed through parliament next year.
07/12/03 Drug Testing Drivers May Be Given Green Light
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(Read More | | Score: 5)
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Posted by drstuey on Wednesday, October 08 2003 (7229 reads)
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(Read More | 11698 bytes | | Score: 4.37)
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Posted by drstuey on Tuesday, September 23 2003 (6180 reads)
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Details of workplace drug-testing in the South Island emerged today in an article in the Nelson Mail.
While the rate of positive tests has dropped since testing was first introduced, it is important to note that testing people's urine will never reveal intoxication or impairment from cannabis, because urine tests only detect non-psychoactive metabolites of THC, rather than the THC itself.
The metabolites are what is left over after the THC has been used by the body - so a urine test can only ever show that someone has previously used cannabis, and not that they are currently impaired.
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(Read More | 5484 bytes | | Score: 5)
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Posted by norml on Friday, August 01 2003 (4408 reads)
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NORML News Winter 2003
Hostile reaction has forced an Auckland company to stop sales of a controversial home drug test kit - after selling just four in two months!
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(Read More | 1432 bytes | | Score: 3.83)
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Posted by norml on Friday, August 01 2003 (3595 reads)
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By Stephen McIntyre
NORML News Winter 2003
In the past five years, workplace drug testing by ESR increased 200 per cent, with 300 companies throughout New Zealand now using the service. Unsurprisingly, the main users are industries involving higher-risk occupations.
But a case being brought by aviation-industry unions before the Employment Court challeges whether or not to allow Air New Zealand to randomly drug test its employees, and as it could lead to a landmark decision, it's a hearing that will be closely monitored by a number of other industries.
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(Read More | 2053 bytes | | Score: 5)
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Posted by drstuey on Wednesday, July 16 2003 (2978 reads)
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(Read More | | Score: 1)
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Posted by drstuey on Wednesday, April 02 2003 (4813 reads)
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A home drug test kit has been withdrawn from sale, after Green MP Nandor Tanczos lodged a complaint with the Commerce Commission.
Called DrugCheck5, the kit was marketed by "drug prevention company" Prove It as a way for parents to find out whether their children were using drugs.
Prove-It managing director Nicky Doherty said the kit worked on a urine test and took five minutes to give indications on marijuana, cocaine, amphetamine and methamphetamine, and opiates heroin and morphine.
Nandor Tanczos lodged a complaint with the Commerce Commission, as he said the kits were not proven to be accurate and could have caused hurt in families. "Even if one test out of 100 were false, that is still one family in 100 at risk of being torn apart from the consequences of a false reading."
The Parents Centre said it feared the drug-testing kit could destroy relationships between parents and teenagers.
The Commerce Commission announced on 30 May that it had dropped its investigation into the controversial drug-testing kit as the kit had been withdrawn from sale.
02/04/03 Teenage drug tests "unreliable and dangerous"
02/04/03 New drug test for parents fails communication test
03/04/03 "Prove It" must prove it to Commission
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(Read More | 2905 bytes | | Score: 4.5)
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Posted by drstuey on Thursday, December 26 2002 (4121 reads)
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New Zealand Herald, Thu, 26 Dec 2002
By Bridget Carter
Drivers may face roadside testing that can determine whether they are under the influence of drugs such as speed, Ecstasy and cannabis.
The tests, used by the Californian Highway Patrol in the United States and by police in Australia, are to be used in conjunction with drink-drive testing and could be introduced within months.
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(Read More | 3218 bytes | | Score: 2.85)
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Posted by drstuey on Monday, October 15 2001 (3096 reads)
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New Zealand Herald, 15 October 2001
By Anne Beston
Anxious parents who call in sniffer dogs to search for drugs
in their children's bedrooms in their absence should not
fear legal problems under the Privacy Act.
John Hancock, who works for Youth Law providing free
legal advice to under-25s, said that as owners of the house,
parents needed only give permission for a search.
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(Read More | 3424 bytes | | Score: 3)
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22 Stories (2 Pages, 20 Per Page)
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Estimated number of cannabis offences since Labour came to power:
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