Why the new Drug Driving law will simply arrest more Māori for no reason

Drug-driving testing legislation passes despite concerns

Legislation to allow roadside drug testing has passed its third and final reading in Parliament.

The bill passed with the support of National, ACT, New Zealand First, and Labour, though all but National raised concerns with the bill that they hoped would be addressed in a statutory review.

The Greens and Te Pāti Māori did not support the bill.

The legislation gives police powers to undertake random roadside saliva tests, similar to drink-driving enforcement.

Drivers who return a positive result will have their saliva sample sent for further laboratory testing. If that subsequent test finds qualifying drugs and an indication of recent use, the drivers would be issued a fine and demerit points.

Let’s be very clear, the new Drug Driving law will simply arrest more Māori for no reason.

We know Police are racist…

Police bias questions with more Māori charged with cannabis-related crimes than Pākehā

…they always target Māori so Māori will be targeted for drug driving.

Let’s be clear for the rednecks, no one wants drug impaired driving on our roads anymore than we want dirty filthy boozers on our roads, but what the drug test tests for is whether cannabis is in your system NOT if you are impaired by that cannabis.

What does this mean?

A joint you smoked last week will come up as positive.

Now, all that test tells you is you smoke a joint last week, it doesn’t;t tell you if you are impaired in your driving!

This new drug testing regime will catch stoners out who have smoked weed last week and who are not impaired to drive.

Watch the fines shoot up as Police see this as a new means of making money.

When the Chemist fucking Warehouse is selling medicinal cannabis you can’t pretend having cannabis in your system means you are impaired!

The ‘safeguard’ put in place is you can pay for a private blood test to prove that which is only something middle classes can afford.

So.

This will see an explosion of fines as a huge swath of people test positive for cannabis minus any actual impairment.

It’s just an exercise in criminalising Māori who drive.

 

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