New South Wales Consolidated Acts

ROAD TRANSPORT (SAFETY AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT) ACT 1999 - SECT 11B

11B Presence of certain drugs (other than alcohol) in oral fluid, blood or urine

(1) Presence of prescribed illicit drug in person’s oral fluid, blood or urine A person must not, while there is present in his or her oral fluid, blood or urine any prescribed illicit drug:

(a) drive a motor vehicle, or

(b) occupy the driving seat of a motor vehicle and attempt to put the motor vehicle in motion, or

(c) if the person is the holder of a driver licence (other than a provisional licence or a learner licence)-occupy the seat in a motor vehicle next to a holder of a learner licence who is driving the vehicle.

Maximum penalty: 10 penalty units (in the case of a first offence) or 20 penalty units (in the case of a second or subsequent offence).

(2) If a person is charged with an offence under subsection (1):

(a) the court attendance notice may allege that more than one prescribed illicit drug was present in the oral fluid, blood or urine of the person and the proceedings are not liable to be dismissed on the ground of uncertainty or duplicity if each of those drugs is described in the court attendance notice, and

(b) the offence is proved if the court is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that there was present in the oral fluid, blood or urine of the defendant:

(i) a drug described in the court attendance notice, or

(ii) a combination of drugs any one or more of which was or were described in the court attendance notice.

(3) Presence of morphine or cocaine in person’s blood or urine A person must not, while there is present in his or her blood or urine any morphine or cocaine:

(a) drive a motor vehicle, or

(b) occupy the driving seat of a motor vehicle and attempt to put the motor vehicle in motion, or

(c) if the person is the holder of a driver licence (other than a provisional licence or a learner licence)-occupy the seat in a motor vehicle next to a holder of a learner licence who is driving the vehicle.

Maximum penalty: 10 penalty units (in the case of a first offence) or 20 penalty units (in the case of a second or subsequent offence).

(4) If a person is charged with an offence under subsection (3):

(a) the court attendance notice may allege that both morphine and cocaine were present in the blood or urine of the person and the proceedings are not liable to be dismissed on the ground of uncertainty or duplicity if each of those drugs is described in the court attendance notice, and

(b) the offence is proved if the court is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that there was present in the blood or urine of the defendant:

(i) a drug described in the court attendance notice, or

(ii) a combination of drugs any one or more of which was or were described in the court attendance notice.

(5) Defence for offence relating to presence of morphine in person’s blood or urine It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence under subsection (3) if the defendant proves that, at the time the defendant did the act referred to in subsection (3) (a), (b) or (c), the presence in the defendant’s blood or urine of morphine was caused by the consumption of a substance for medicinal purposes.

(6) In this section, a substance is consumed for medicinal purposes only if it is:

(a) a drug prescribed by a medical practitioner taken in accordance with a medical practitioner’s prescription, or

(b) a codeine-based medicinal drug purchased from a pharmacy that has been taken in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

Note: Division 1 of Part 5.4 of the Road Transport (General) Act 2005 provides for the disqualification of persons from holding driver licences for certain offences (including offences under this section).
The offences of driving with a prescribed concentration of alcohol in the blood, and of driving under the influence of alcohol or any other drug, are dealt with in sections 9 and 12, respectively.