There are a few issue that I have taken up on this blog and I do like to keep my public informed.

Police Commissioner Christine Nixon has told us that one in 50 people drug tested have tested positive.

n the six-month period, 7207 tests have been conducted and police have confirmed 145 positive results.

Tests have been carried out at all times of day and night, and in locations across Melbourne, but have particularly focused on the freight industry and on weekend “rave parties.”

Police say rates of drug driving are highest between 4am and 9:30 am on Sunday mornings.

Of the positive results, 103 tested positive solely for methamphetamines such as speed and ecstasy, while six registered a positive for THC (marijuana) only.

The remainder of the positive results were for multiple drug use.

Police sources said the lower result for THC did not mean marijuana use was less common than amphetamine use. “It is harder to test for,” one source said.

This is interesting. A few immediate responses would be, no shit the kids are taking drugs at rave parties, and no shit that truck drivers are taking a reasonable amount. It’s hard to get an indication from this article but I’d imagine that truck drivers are showing up as disproportionately high on a per-capita basis but not on the basis of these tests.

However what surprises me more is the (relatively) low level of positive tests for Marijuana. I had a feeling that they would be the vast majority (based on a survey of my derelict friends).

This would suggest to me that either the tests aren’t accurate for THC testing or that it only detects usage a relatively short time after usage.

It’s also interesting to note that “the testing equipment being used was not the force’s preferred technology.”