Gardaí in Donegal have pleaded with drug users who are thinking about getting behind the wheel of a car to wait until it is safe to do so to avoid harming themselves and others.
Cannabis use is illegal in Ireland, but as drink and drug driving detections rise in Donegal, gardaí are warning users about the recommended time periods of when it is safe to drive.
The garda roadside tests can detect four different types of drugs and will detect 9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in cannabis, in saliva for about 6 hours after last use. However, due to the lack of regulation in cannabis, the levels can vary.
It is recommended to wait 24 hours after last using cannabis before driving, according to Sergeant Eunan Walsh.
Speaking in the community Garda notice, Sgt Walsh said: “The correct answer in an ideal world is not to take cannabis at all and certainly not to take it if you are going to drive. Unfortunately it is not an ideal world and people do take cannabis and other illegal substances.”
“It is recommended to wait 24 hours after last using cannabis before driving. If you are sure you are no longer impaired as result of taking cannabis and more than 6 hours have elapsed since last use it should not be possible for a Garda to detect impairment and the 9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) level in you oral fluid should be lower than the detection limit for the Cannabis test on the Drager Drugtest 5000.”
Sgt Walsh added that poly-drug use, such as the dangerous mixture of alcohol and cannabis, is the most impairing to people’s driving.
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