Irish expert has some advice for Malta's police on roadside drug testing

Denis Cusack says Malta is on the right track, provided police receive impairment training

Malta is on the right track in introducing roadside drug testing, but the police must be trained to assess impairment and not penalise prescription use, an Irish road safety expert has warned.

Prof. Denis Cusack is director of the Medical Bureau of Road Safety (MBRS) in Ireland, which introduced random roadside drug testing in 2017.

The government announced plans to introduce similar measures in Malta after a series of deadly road accidents in the summer. 

Cusack, whose research specialises in intoxicated driving, road traffic medicine, forensic death investigation and medical ethics, said introducing the law in Malta is complicated by the fact that cannabis is legal under certain conditions.

Several stakeholders, including cannabis regulator ARUC as well as doctors and the government's own social services provider, have highlighted how traces of cannabis can be detected in the body even when...

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Published on November 8, Times of Malta