According to the Bendigo Advertiser, a man caught driving his ride-on lawnmower with a drug and alcohol in his system will face the magistrates court. The man was caught by police when he was noticed driving his ride-on on a highway. He was using the mower to tow a trailer full of wood and clippings...
Category: Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous news
The dangers of opioids
If we cast our minds back a mere 20 or 30 years ago, heroin was a relatively common illegal drug in Australia. It was not only being used widely, it was killing Australians. In 1999, there were 1740 deaths directly attributed to drug use and a large portion of these were due to heroin. 1999...
Drug testing the water not a waste
Results from the latest National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program are in, with the latest wastewater drug testing showing that methylamphetamines are the most widely used illicit drug across Australia. There is a caveat to this, however, because this doesn’t include cannabis. Cannabis would head the list, but it is not illegal in all states and...
Warning about drugs purchased over the Internet
While there is always a lot of focus on illegal drugs – such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines – it’s a legal drug being used without medical supervision and sourced illegally that is killing the most Victorians. That’s according to an article in this week’s Herald Sun. The article claims that a highly addictive...
Failing the Queensland alcohol test
Can you fail alcohol testing if you are under 0.05 blood alcohol concentration? You may have realised that this is a bit of a trick question, because the answer is yes. It is possible to be charged with drink driving if you are under 0.05 BAC, but only for some drivers. For example, in Queensland,...
Australians who use drugs
Who uses recreational drugs in Australia? Is the rate of recreational drug use growing? What drugs do people use? Why do people use drugs? While these are somewhat complex questions, with no single answer, it’s worth taking a closer look. This is particularly the case for workplace owners or managers, who are trying to ensure...
Drugs and alcohol in the workplace
Are you an employer that’s concerned about your people using drugs and alcohol in the workplace? Are you an employee who is concerned about other people’s drug or alcohol habits, and what it could mean to your safety? If you’re concerned about drugs and alcohol in the workplace, it’s possible you have every right to...
COVID and alcohol – what’s the story?
Since March 2020, when COVID restrictions started coming into force and lockdowns began to be part of the vernacular, there’s been a lot of speculation about Aussie’s drinking habits. Would we start drinking more, would there be more alcohol-related harms and what would be the impact? Recently, the Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF) looked at...
Alcohol breathalysers – the gift that could save a life!
Do a search online for alcohol breathalysers and you’ll soon see that you purchase one for far less than you can shout a round of drinks at the pub. But do cheap breathalysers actually work? Will they provide you with an accurate measurement of your ability to drive a car safely and stay under 0.05%...
COVID-19 rapid testing in the workplace
COVID-19 has thrown forward some new buzzwords that until recently weren’t part of common vernacular. Words like “herd immunity”, “flattening the curve” and “roadmap to recovery” spring to mind. Now there’s a new buzzword to add to the list and you’re going to hear this a lot in the coming months, and that’s “rapid testing...