'the more people on drugs, or alcohol, the more you will have drug or drink driving.'

Very true!

So the answer is not in stopping either because even if the courts take away their license people will still drive and cause even greater harm through having an unlicensed motor vehicle.
The harder something is to get, the harder they try

The problem is in the mentality of those who take drugs and drive or drink and drive and it's called irresponsibility., both of those who consume and those who provide.
Because we live in a 'civilised' society where we consider the 'rights' of the perpetrators we have what we have which is called 'every man for himself'
Banish someone to a remote area, rather than jail, for their act is a better solution within the present framework or present them with a debt for life on conviction, where a percentage of their earnings go to those harmed or killed by their irresponsible act

benk,

"... It is none of any employer's business if their workers use drugs on their time off."

So they come to work still under the effects of some drug and use heavy moving equipment or high-speed machines and everything is rosy?

It only looks that way, through the blood spray.

//So they come to work still under the effects of some drug and use heavy moving equipment or high-speed machines and everything is rosy?//

Well obviously not.

But if a person is no longer under the influence but still has detectable levels of metabolites within their system (in the case of highly lipophilic metabolites, they can stick around for a very long time - i.e. months - after the drugs effects have worn off), that can often be grounds for dismissal.

And that's not OK. Imagine if alcohol had highly lipophilic metabolites. It's the 25th of January: if alcohol's metabolites were that lipohilic, somebody showing up to work today, completely clean and sober, could fail a drug test because they had a few drinks with Christmas lunch.

As it happens alcohol's metabolites are quite water soluble, but that doesn't follow for all drugs. So that's a problem.

The other problem is the potential for new drugs to hit the market and be used before a test can be developed for them. In this scenario, you could have somebody show up to work highly impaired by the drug and still pee clean. That's an even bigger problem.

Indeed, the potential for people to be working whilst highly impaired but still able to pass drug tests is why I think we need to take a serious look at the way we test for them, at least when it comes to WHS and road safety. As much as I love analytical chemistry, and think it's a fine tool for detecting performance enhancing drugs in sport, I don't think it's good tool for testing impairment.

And it's the impairment that matters: the insomniac heavy vehicle operator who is highly impaired simply due to his lack of sleep is far more dangerous than the alert, well-rested one who had a spliff on Friday night 3 weeks ago. But there is no way to test for the insomniac's fatigue without directly testing his level of impairment. That is what we need to be measuring.

Hi there BENK...

Whether the drug ICE is out of your system in a few days is immaterial, it's against the law. And employer's have every right to expect their employees to attend work without any indication of illicit or licit drug use. Especially if they operate heavy machinery or drive the company's M/V's. In law it's termed, the 'foresight of consequences' and it's applicable, both in civil tort as well as; Traffic and the Criminal law, BENK.

Mate please understand, I'm not having a go at you, I can see you are of the belief that no employer has the right to interfere with an employee's private leisure time or what he does in that leisure time. However each of us does have a responsibility (morally) to do nothing in our leisure and private time, that might inhibit the safety; or otherwise compromise the job we're hired to perform, by engaging in an act that's both illegal and dangerous. That's it in essence my friend.

Hi there TONI LAVIS...

Wouldn't it be great if the local HWP members had just such a machine. One capable of accurately measuring a driver/operator of a M/V or heavy machinery whether that individual is in anyway impaired, through reasons of drugs, alcohol, or simply sleep deprived. I reckon it would certainly reduce the road toll and factory fatalities, almost by a good third.

Thank you BENK & TONI LAVIS.

I've had to hide workers from the boss, on a Sunday morning, because of their private leisure time imbibing on Saturday night and it's hard to hide somebody on a Sunday maintenance shift.
Not only makes it hard on the other workers but puts everyone on the spot; so from me they got one chance only, next offence and they were sent home and a written report went to management.

According to the Australian Conservatives website, a “twice convicted drug trafficker” has walked from court in South Australia with his second suspended sentence in 2 years. The maximum penalty for drug trafficking is 10 years jail.

“The Drug 'ICE' & what can be done about it?” Absolutely nothing, given our pathetic court system and independent judges and magistrates.