Those who take recreational drugs could be caught for driving under the influence for days after consumption, gardaí have warned.

At a meeting of the City Joint Policing Committee (JPC) on Monday, drivers were warned that there would be serious consequences for getting behind the wheel with drugs in their system.

This comes as Galway Gardaí roll out a new roadside test for drugs which reduces the time required for a result – and broadens the list of drugs for which drivers are tested.

Chief Superintendent Gerard Roche told the meeting that since last Thursday, the new test had come into use – cautioning drivers that in the run up to Christmas and immediately afterwards, some 1,500 mandatory intoxication testing checkpoints would be carried out.

Gardaí would be testing for the presence of drugs, he said, for which “the sanctions are quite severe”.

“The new drug driving tests have been in use since December 1. It now only takes four to six minutes for a result – it was anything up to 30 minutes. The analysis is much quicker and the range of drugs tested for is wider.

“People should be aware that drugs stay in the system for a long time – it could be four or five days, or even a week in the system and it will still show up on the test,” said the chief.

City Councillor Frank Fahy (FG), who drives a taxi in the city, said people in general were not aware of the extent of drug use and he believed that this new test would show up just how prevalent it was.
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