The Monegasque police force have a new tool on their belts, an anti-narcotic saliva test, which is capable of detecting the recent consumption of various illicit substances such as opiates, ecstasy, cannabis and beyond, alongside the standard testing of alcohol. Intended to make the Principality’s roads safer, this bit of paraphernalia was implemented over two weeks ago.
To initiate the saliva test, which involves an officer sticking a probe into the suspect’s mouth. As is the case with alcohol testing, the police must first ‘screen’ a road user for “external signs” of recent drug use, such as slurring of speech, bloodshot eyes or dangerous driving. This means that if an officer is suspicious of you, expect to be tested. Don’t want to be tested? Too bad, because a refusal to be tested results in a positive test result, despite no test occurring at all. This suspicion based screening protocol was developed by the Sûreté Publique de Monaco and validated by the Attorney General of Monaco, Sylvie Petit-Leclair.
Once the suspicious road user’s saliva has been collected and shows a positive test result, the accused will then be taken to the Princess Grace Hospital for further testing and analysis to better refine results. From there, the saliva samples travel to a laboratory in Nice for even further analysis. An appointment will then be made for the accused in court .
Featured image: drug driving
