12:00a.m. 5th December 2007

| By Carolyn Tucker

Concerns have been raised over new roadside drug tests in Queensland.

Lawyers are lining up to question the accuracy and purpose of new roadside drug tests, claiming there is insufficient scientific evidence to justify the government’s random approach.

Launching the new roadside tests last week, Police Minister Judy Spence said there would be zero tolerance for those who climbed behind the wheel under the influence of marijuana, speed, ice or ecstasy.

Ms Spence said those were caught would face fines of up to $1050 and lose their licence for up to nine months for a first offence.

But some in the legal community, who prefer not to be named, suggested the new laws appeared to be more about detecting drug use in the community than getting unsafe drivers off the road.

President of the Council for Civil Liberties Michael Cope said for the first time in Queensland, it would become an offence to have certain illicit drugs in your system, regardless of whether those substances were causing any driving impairment.

"As far as we are concerned there is no established mechanism for relating the amount of drug in your system to impairment, which will vary significantly from one individual to another," Mr Cope said.

"There are also other issues abut the testing equipment potentially producing false positives, including for the use of common prescription drugs."

Mr Cope said research conducted in Canada found drug testing had returned false positives for 100 legally prescribed drugs.

Mr Cope said there was also concern that some drugs, such as cannabis, could linger in a person’s system.

Sunshine Coast defence solicitor Chelsea Emery said she believed there were still a number of unanswered questions about the new laws and there was little reference to what levels of a drug would determine any impairment.

"It’s known that cannabis metabolites stay in your system for about four weeks, even though the substance which gives the drug high is long gone.

"Does this mean you could smoke cannabis at a party – or even ingest second-hand smoke – and be random drug-tested weeks later, and then charged with an offence?"