Miners turning to 'ice' to beat drug tests

[Blue]

There are concerns drug and alcohol testing on Western Australian mine sites could be actually fuelling a rise in amphetamine use among workers.
The Federal Government recently announced $150 million to combat the methamphetamine, or 'ice', epidemic.
National Drug Research Institute surveys show nearly one in 10 Australians have used 'ice' at least once.
Institute spokesman Richard Midford says mine workers are taking 'ice' because it is only detectable for two or three days after being taken.
Associate Professor Midford says anecdotal evidence suggests a shift from cannabis use to 'ice' because cannabis can be detected in drug tests for up to a month.
"People who are committed to using really did look at switching from cannabis, which stays in the system for a long time and can be picked up by drug testing many days after being used, and they switched to other drugs including amphetamines which stay in the system for a shorter period of time and are less likely to be detected," he said.
The Australian Workers Union (AWU), which represents many WA mine workers, concedes some workers may be taking amphetamines and going undetected.
AWU WA state secretary Tim Daly says the rules on cannabis need to be changed to examine the level of impairment in workers.
He says workers would not support more extensive drug testing because of the intrusive nature of the checks.
"Some of these new drugs can be out of your system within 24 hours and I'm not sure that all of them show up in the urine sample," he said.
"Now that's why I think some of them might be starting to look at doing blood testing and you'll find there's a lot of opposition to that because it just shows up so many other things."

[JDP]

ice is an on-going tragedy, too many people here in perth are dissolving their brains with it. sad its happening up in the mines too...

how are you m8, been thinking about you. take care

[Blue]

ice is an on-going tragedy, too many people here in perth are dissolving their brains with it. sad its happening up in the mines too...

how are you m8, been thinking about you. take care

Going good mate, how have you been that is the main thing?

I have been watching alot of Ice and Meth Documentarys on YouTube.com lately, they are amazing, and eye opening to what damage Meth does to people.

[Timothy]

Meth has got to be one of the worst drugs to hit the streets of Perth. I to was unaware that it was effecting the miners up North but when you think about it, it doesn't really surprise me. The biggest problem with the miners is that some of them get paid $400,000 a year so they can afford such habits. Before you try to battle the drug, try remove the funding for it.