Drug driving - public policy dilemmas

Governments around Australia are seeking to address the problems associated with driving while under the influence of drugs, but they face a series of policy dilemmas. This paper discusses these dilemmas, referring to secondary sources such as research reports and discussion papers. Some of the issues which arise concern the difficulties in using slow and deliberative research and legislative processes to deal with a dynamic drug use situation and rapid advances in drug detection technology. Other issues relate to the place that drugs have in our society and the degree to which social and civil freedoms can be circumscribed to facilitate enforcement of drug driving. The available policy options involve compromises which may not be acceptable to key stakeholders. This situation is unlikely to change without political decisions being made, or changes occur in the wider context of drug use in society