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A new test from Trimega Diagnostics makes drug abuse more difficult to hide.
Drug testing at road blocks
Avi Lasarow and Ashley Uys from this new company recently launched their BT1 range (Breathalyzer test 1). This test, functionally designed to be used as a key ring, accurately indicates whether an individual is over the legal alcohol limit, or whether he/she has been using drugs.
According to Lasarow, the BT1 is a relatively simple and user-friendly design which can be used by anyone from parents and teachers to employers and police. One of the prime functions of the BT1, he said, was so that people could "take responsibility for themselves before getting behind the wheel of a car".
Trimega Diagnostics (PTY) Limited is the company chosen to deliver South Africa’s first ever roadside drug testing pilot programme. The company is a joint venture between UK-based Trimega Laboratories and Real World Diagnostics. The BT1 key ring range is available at selected Alpha Pharmacy outlets nationwide.
How it works
To use the Drugalyzer test, one takes a sample of an individual’s saliva or sweat to determine if they are driving under the influence of a drug (illegal under Section 65 of the Road Traffic Act).
A simple swipe of the product on the forehead of a suspect is enough to indicate whether they have ingested a drug that has an intoxicating effect. Similar tests have been conducted in the UK, Germany and Australia, with encouraging results to date.
“We hope to use our experience to provide scientific testing in a form that can be understood easily by the consumer,” said Lasarow.
Lasarow and Uys have actually carried out several such tests on motorists in and around Cape Town in conjunction with the police, and admitted that there had been an alarming number of motorists driving under the influence of a variety of drugs, which included tik and dagga.
Why it works
According to Uys and Lasarow, one of the reasons their test is so effective is because it's less invasive than other tests which require blood or urine samples. They claimed that at the roadblocks most people were willing to let them perform the test as they did not feel as infringed upon as they would have been if they were given a little cup and asked to fill it on the side of the road.
Who can use it?
According to Steve White, a practising community pharmacist and President of the Community Pharmacist Sector of the Pharmaceutical Society of SA, the test, which is available at all AlphaPharm pharmacies. It was popular with both parents and employers, who wanted to check their kids or their employees for drug use.
He also said that as the tests were available on the shelf and not hidden away behind a counter, it was more accessible to people who might feel embarrassed about buying one if they had to ask for it. It is also not expensive and retails for around R50.
(Amy Henderson, Health24.com, September 2008)
