Question On Notice No. 808 asked in the Legislative Council on 10 August 2022 by Hon Dr Brian Walker
Question Directed to the: Minister for Emergency Services representing the Minister for Police
Parliament: 41 Session: 1
Question
I refer to an aricle in the Geraldton Guardian, dated Tuesday, 19 July, which suggested that recent roadside testing undertaken by Western Australian Police across Geraldton, Kalbarri and Carnarvon had resulted in almost a quarter of those tested 23 percent, returning positive for drugs of one type of another, and I ask:
(a) is the Minister able to provide a breakdown of positive results obtained, by drug type such as cannabis, methamphetamine, alcohol and or other specific drugs;
(b) is the Minister able to say at this stage if any of those who tested positive for cannabis cite medicinal prescription as the reason for their result; and
(c) can the Minister confirm if phase three of this targeted testing drive, as referenced in the article has commenced, and if it has, are any additional figures now available, and can those be shared with the House?
Answered on 20 September 2022
The Western Australia Police Force advise:
a) Drug results are confirmed by analysis at the Chemistry Centre of WA. Preliminary breath and drug tests conducted during all 3 phases, between 29/06/22 – 22/07/22, resulted in the following detections:
Cannabis – 77
Methamphetamine – 15
Combination of both – 8
Alcohol – 47
b) No -Under section 64AC of the Road Traffic Act 1974 (RTA) it is an offence to drive a motor vehicle while a ‘prescribed illicit drug’ is present in the driver’s oral fluid or blood. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a ‘prescribed illicit drug’ for the purposes of this section and the RTA does not discriminate between prescription medical cannabis containing THC and illicit cannabis.
c) Phase 3 has been completed. 6197 random breath tests were conducted, 19 tested positive for alcohol. 160 drug tests were conducted, 27 tested positive.