druged driving

[amalan11]

I am appauled by this , on the South Coast of NSW there was an awful accident recently where a four wheel drive vered over and took out  a little car ,2 sisters were draged out critical and their parents insinerated along with at fault driver .One of the sisters has now died and the other is still critical. 

It comes out now the other driver has an awful driving history including jail time and was a drug addict....

He was returning from a methadone clinic when this happened, But if thats not bad enough its legal,you are allowed to drive after visiting a methadone clinic 

How is that possible????

unbelievable. .

I do hope they change the law there is no way people on methadone should drive 

[kopenhagen5]

There has been another accident in similar circumstances.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/2017/12/28/10/18/driver-with-still-warm-drug-pipe-charged-over-cra...

I have no objection in these drivers receiving a lethal injection.

[givemeaspell]

What a tragedy this is.   Innocent family wiped out.  Apparently multiple traffic offences, why was this person still driving?

[enigmabear]

Because society demands that scumbags like this are given chance after chance after chance

[davidc4430]

I think these things happen because our pollies would have to stop aguing over stuff like SSM and who is and isnt a citizen and do their jobs.

thats federal, state and local elected representatives.

we vote in govts to amongst other things make laws we must follow.

our laws regarding lots of things just dont fit the crime of today. it seems to take forever for the polies to get a grip on a problem and fix it.

besides, yep this was a terrible accident? but it'll be forgotten by all but those close to it by this time next week. so the govt thinks well why spend months on putting legislation thru parliment when it wont win us many votes. sad but true.

much better spending money they dont have building stuff we cant afford (but we remember who did it at the next election) and we love using. footy stadiums, new roads ect ect.

[chameleon54]

Just wait till medical marijuana gets a decent hold here. There will be dopey drivers smashing into things left, right and centre and its all OK because they smoke dope to relieve the pain of..... ........... 

Yes I know all the arguments about medicinal marijuana having low THC levels, but it is the thin end of the wedge. The dopes who use it wont mind smoking the real thing rather than the low THC stuff and our weakened laws wont be able to diddly squat about it.

Dope is a scourge on society, dumbing people down, taking away their initiative and turning them into mindless morons. The young ones today ( YIPEE !!!!....... I,m old enough to say that now....   ) are using dope and amphetamines in place of alcohol. Its cheaper and gives more bang for their buck.   I see unemployed, doped out kids everywhere and its such a waste of potential. We just dont need another habit forming, dangerous drug legalised. we,ve got enough problems with alcohol and nicotine abuse without caving into the drugged up, dope smoking lobby.

[peteepie]

Methadone and driving

It is illegal for anyone to drive if, by being under the influence of a drug/s, they are incapable of having proper control of a vehicle. This includes methadone and, if suspected, the driver can be subjected to a drug test. Breaking this law carries penalties including disqualification from driving, heavy fines and/or imprisonment. Mixing methadone with other substances further increases the risk of accident. For instance, even a small amount of alcohol taken with methadone can impair an individual’s driving skills and put them at risk of a serious accident. Methadone may also affect the client’s ability when operating heavy machinery or playing sport. Until a client is stabilised on a particular dose of methadone, it is safer if they avoid driving a car or operating machinery. This is particularly important during the first few weeks of treatment or when the methadone dose is changed.

Problem is scumbags like this don't care about the law.

[not_for_sale2024]

---

@chameleon54 wrote:

"Dope is a scourge on society, dumbing people down, taking away their initiative and turning them into mindless morons".

---

    I'd agree with you if I didn't have an opinion, but I'd rather just wait for this bud to open. Peace man.

   

[amalan11]

It looks like the first article I read on this may have been wrong in saying it is legal to drive after visiting a meth clinic. I notice in later stories it said there was legal for people running clinics to allow clients to drive but even so its a disgrace  . 

I don't drive and live in inner City area so have lots of transportation but I really think we need  to look at confiscation of cars for driving offences that warrant it  especially repeat offenders.It seems like a lot of these people are not the type to steal a car but will keep driving despite no licence or court orders if a car is there.

If they just could not access a car it would be better for everyone.I know cars can be confiscated for a month in some states but it should be permanently  if they are repeat offenders ...just sell it and ban them from a car for say 10 years. 

I would also say too bad if its a friend or relative who owns it .They should make sure traffic offenders do not take their car.

something has to be done to stop the dreadfull number of non licensed drivers that are on the road ,so often with fatal crashs it involves unlicenced/ drugged/drunk drivers .

it just seems crazy to me that these types have cars as just telling them not to do it will not work.

[viewmont1071]

Elderly drivers taking prescription opiate derivatives and not recognizing they are impaired are a far greater risk... so say the statistics

http://www.talkingdrugs.org/prescription-drugged-driving

Methadone and buprenorphine at most stable doses will not make addicts high, but rather just rids cravings. Drug cravings often lead to drug-seeking behavior and subsequent crime, especially when cravings are not fed. Methadone is often prescribed just because of its lack of high in patients who are taking it to the point of titration.

Furthermore, it is often used as primary treatment for chronic pain because of its analgesic and antitussive properties, as well as having a lesser chance of addiction than many other pharmaceutical drugs. Some patients are prescribed methadone because of allergic reactions to other pain killers.

Nearly all records of driving accidents where methadone was found in the person’s system, the person was not tolerant to the dose or there were additional drugs or alcohol found in the patient.

Reviews of driving records have shown that narcotic users do not have driving records significantly different from aged-matched individuals in the general population, nor do methadone-dependent patients (Gordon).

Findings typically suggest that standards around methadone patients driving should be the same as for other people when stabilized on methadone, LAAM, or buprenorphine treatment (Lenne, Dietze, Rumbold, Redman, Triggs; Schindler, Ortner, Peternell, Eder, Opgenoorth, Fischer; Baewert, Gombas, Schindler, Peternell-Moelzer, Eder, Jagsch).

A study in Australia points out that impairment by alcohol consumption is similar in effects in drug-free drivers and opioid-dependent drivers (Dietze). Studies have even gone as far as to point out,

“The formal assertion that addiction equals driving-inability, which is largely practiced at present, is inadmissible and therefore harmful to the therapeutic efforts for rehabilitation.” (Rössler, Battista, Deisenhammer, Günther, Pohl, Prokop, Riemer)