NEW TECHNOLOGY WILL HELP POLICE TO DETECT DRUGGED DRIVERS

NEW technology will make it even dopier for people to take drugs and
drive.

Using a hand-held device, police will be able to tell within 90
seconds whether a driver has used one of five major illegal drugs,
including heroin and cannabis.

That's three times faster than current roadside tests, which can
detect only three drugs at a time -- amphetamine, ecstasy and cannabis.

The new analyser has been extensively tested in Australia, the UK,
Italy, Spain, Germany and the US by its inventor, Philips.

Victoria Police know about the new portable analyser.

"Victoria Police is aware of the device, as we are aware of a number
of other emerging products," said Insp Martin Boorman of the traffic,
drugs and alcohol section.

In the past three years police have tested 86,719 drivers for drugs,
with 1418 positive.

In the new test, drivers have to blow into a disposable plastic
cartridge attached to a hand-held analyser.

Saliva samples cause the cartridge to change colour if cocaine,
heroin, cannabis, methamphetamines or amphetamines have been consumed.

"This new device could see police doing roadside drug tests in the
same way they test for alcohol," Philips spokeswoman Sarah Campbell
said