Homepage Integrity Sampling newsroom

Random Drug Testing in Queensland – It’s Everywhere!

Announcement posted by Integrity Sampling 12 Dec 2016

On Queensland roads, in Queensland workplaces and on Queensland waterways, if you take drugs and drive, work or take the controls of a boat, random drug testing will catch you.
On Queensland roads, in Queensland workplaces and on Queensland waterways, if you take drugs and drive, work or take the controls of a boat, random drug testing will catch you.

That’s the message that the Queensland Police, Integrity Sampling and the Queensland Water Police are hopeful is getting through, particularly as we approach the festive season.

Random drug testing on Queensland roads started around 8 years ago, but it’s only in the last few years that the number of drug tests has risen to significant levels. For example, last financial year the number of people who undertook random drug testing on our roads was around 50,000. This was more than double the number in the previous financial year of 20,000 random drug tests.

The increase of roadside random drug testing Queensland Police was thanks largely to purchase of hi-tech drug testing equipment. The Drager Drug Test 5000 allows the police to test for a range of drugs quickly and accurately. The units are now situated across the state, giving the police the ability to catch drug-influenced drivers anywhere, at any time.

Ensuring employees in Queensland workplaces are fit to work is the job of businesses such asIntegrity Sampling, which conducts workplace drug testing across the state. Integrity Sampling has 6 branch locations in Queensland, including Brisbane, Cairns, Mackay, Rockhampton, Townsville and Winton. Like the Queensland Police, Integrity Sampling also uses the Drager Drug Test 5000 for its drug testing work.

If you take drugs and then take control of a boat on Queensland waterways, you can also be in trouble with the law. During a recent weekend on the Gold Coast, 10 people were pulled over for random drug testing by the Queensland Water Police after they were suspected of being under the influence of drugs. According to a Gold Coast Bulletin article, from the 10 people tested, four skippers provided positive drug tests.

The water police say that officers will continue random drug testing of people in charge of boats in Queensland waters, particularly with during he busy summer period. And, as stated on the Maritime Safety Queensland website, “There is zero tolerance for driving or boating under the influence of drugs”. Similar to the roads, penalties can include licence suspension, licence disqualification, fines and, for serious or repeat offenders, imprisonment terms.

There’s another message that the Queensland Police, Integrity Sampling and the Queensland Water Police hope to get across. And that is that the penalty of failing a drug test may be severe, but it’s noting compared with the consequences of driving a car or boat, or going to work under the influence of a drug and causing an accident. 

When you think of the potential consequences, it’s easy to see that drug use combined with driving, work or taking control of a boat simply does not mix.