If all the drug traffickers who were not arrested last year came together, they could create the third largest city in Austria. A ‘drug bus’ based on the Italian model should change that in the future. Now it is politics’ turn.
There is no place on the street for anyone who drinks alcohol. This is checked by the police millions of times a year using breath tests. This is different with drug tests. Although preliminary saliva tests have been available since 2017, they are not considered reliable evidence. The difficult route to the doctor prevents the executive from taking effective action against drug traffickers.
In 2023, 8,676 advertisements were placed (six times as many as in 2017). Too little, according to the KfV. The “dark field study on drugs” seems to prove the experts right. Five percent of the 1,004 respondents said they would have driven a car while using drugs in 2023. Extrapolated to 250,000 – almost the population of Linz and St. Pölten combined. Compared to 2021 (204,000), an increase of 23 percent!
Drug drivers are often men and younger than 40 years old
In general, men under 40 are more likely to play risky games with death. But the number of women has also doubled since 2021. While numbers have fallen from Vorarlberg to Upper Austria, eastern and southern Austria are turning more often to cannabis, cocaine, etc. In Styria, Burgenland and Carinthia the number of women drug addicts has doubled. “This is a problem that is vastly underestimated in Austria,” complains KfV director Christian Schimanofsky.
Will there soon be a mobile medicine laboratory in Austria?
The so-called ‘drug bus’ could provide relief. The mobile forensic-toxicology drug laboratory – described in somewhat more complicated terms – rolls on four wheels and has been in use in Italy since 2019. On Wednesday, the “Krone” was able to view the high-tech vehicle for the first time in Vienna.
If the KfV has its way, the ‘drug bus’ must become a permanent tool for the executive in the future. Saliva tests could then be evaluated within one to one and a half hours in the fully equipped laboratory – a larger number of drug drivers would be taken out of circulation. Also an improvement from a legal perspective. Currently, police officers – especially in rural areas or at night – must accompany suspects to the nearest hospital for a blood test and examination.
According to the KfV, it is unclear whether politicians want to pay for the laboratories (costs run into six figures). In the interest of everyone’s safety, we hope for a decision soon.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
