Drugging and driving... the new evil?

The Cape Town Metro police are planning on testing drivers suspected of being under the influence of drugs at roadblocks.

Yet questions have been raised as to whether this is a feasible, or realistic, task. While crime statistics indicate that illegal drug use in the country is on the increase – the most common are dagga and cocaine/crack - will this be enough to convince the authorities of the necessity to do this testing? And how will it be carried out? (from News24)

Many experts believe that the biggest problem with this type of testing is that although it is a good idea, there are too many obstacles which need to be overcome first.

“There are certain ways to test for drugs, such as through urine or hair, but it is not feasible to carry such tests out on the side of the road for many reasons, says Sarah Fischer, Executive Director of the Substance Misuse Advocacy, Research and Training (Smart) group. “These problems include how one would actually go about testing, the chance of contamination, expense and of course the fact that if a person had taken legal medication, this could show up as a positive in a drug test.”

“Unless there is a protocol set up, this kind of system will not work. It is very different from testing for alcohol – as alcohol is a legal substance and the test is non-invasive.”

Trimega Diagnostics (PTY) Limited is the company chosen to deliver South Africa’s first ever roadside drug testing pilot programme. The company is a joint venture between UK-based Trimega Laboratories and Real World Diagnostics. The DrugAlyzer alcohol key ring range is available at selected Alpha Pharmacy outlets to include Alpha Pharmacies branded version of the drug test.

How it works
To use the DrugAlyzer test, one takes a sample of an individual’s saliva or sweat to determine if they are driving under the influence of a drug (illegal under Section 65 of the Road Traffic Act).

According to Uys and Lasarow, the strength of the test is that it's so non-invasive. At the roadblocks, they said, most people were willing to co-operate. (also from News24)

No mention of how reliable the Drugalyzer is... Would anyone wanting to rely on this technology base their reputation that will not produce any false positives? Judges? OK test all judges before work. Metropolitan Police Officers? No reason to not have a weekly test. Politicians? These folks have the most responsible jobs in the country. Surely they would have absolutely NO PROBLEM in submitting to a test once a week? Driving the country under the influence? I am not saying that is what is happening, but it could explain a thing or two?