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Failure in first roadside drug test

Dec 22, 2004 1:24 PM

A delivery driver who tested positive to the world's first roadside drug test in Melbourne was cleared of all charges on Thursday by an independent laboratory, his lawyers said.

John De Jong, who drives a van and a small truck for a Melbourne company, protested his innocence after returning two positive tests for drugs at a random roadside test in Melbourne's inner west last week.

His lawyers Slater and Gordon today issued a statement saying Mr De Jong had been vindicated by independent laboratory tests which revealed he had not been driving under the influence of cannabis.

But Mr De Jong, who has not been charged, must await the outcome of police tests before he knows if he is in the clear.

His solicitor Katalin Blonde said the negative test results came as no surprise to Mr De Jong.

"Mr De Jong is pleased that he has been vindicated and now wants to regain some normality in his life and address the damage caused by the publication of incorrect test results," she said.

"He awaits advice from Victoria Police on the results of their third test and is confident it will show a similar result."

The 39-year-old father of two was last week devastated when his image was captured by waiting press photographers and cameramen called by police to witness the world first test.

Mr De Jong, who lives in Ballarat in central Victoria, said his family had been shocked when they saw him on the television news.

Police told him the tests, which detect THC, - the active component in marijuana - and methamphetamine, or speed, in saliva, showed he had smoked marijuana two hours beforehand, he said.

But Mr De Jong, who admits using marijuana two or three times a year, said he had not smoked the drug for a month.

Victoria Police assistant media director Kevin Loomes said he would not comment on the results of Mr De Jong's independent laboratory tests.

Mr De Jong would be notified of his police test results in due course, he said.