Those foolish enough to mix partying and driving now have more to fear than the breathalyser, with news that people have started to be arrested and charged under new drug driving laws, as reported by Metro.
The new laws were introduced at the beginning of March, when driving limits for certain drugs, both legal and illegal, were introduced to stand alongside the alcohol limits. One of the first people to be arrested was charged with being “over the limit for cannabis” in South Yorkshire, according to a secondary report.
The new drug driving tests use a saliva swab system. Previously, police officers would have to use field impairment tests that were far more subjective. According to the report, the permitted limits for illegal drugs are very low, to the point that consumption the previous day could cause a test failure. The seven illegal drugs included in the test are heroin, cocaine, MDMA (ecstasy), cannabis, ketamine, LSD and methamphetamine.
The tests also look for commonly abused prescription drugs including morphine and Valium. Apparently there are far higher failure thresholds for these drugs, to account for people who take them legally on prescription. If you are prescribed one of these drugs, carrying a prescription in your glovebox could make sense.