Drug testing for Waikato road users to kick off in April 2026

Wednesday, 3 December 2025

Police will begin roadside testing for drugged drivers in Waikato from April next year, following a Wellington launch this month.

However, while a number of experts agreed with the need to address the dangerous behaviour, several say the tests aren’t set up to judge impairment.

The director of road policing, Superintendent Steve Greally, told the Waikato Times they would kick off the testing on December 15 in the capital.

“Police are taking a staged approach to the introduction of testing, which will enable us to evaluate our process from end-to-end as we begin our progressive national rollout from April 2026,” he said.

“Police will test for four drugs at the roadside. Twenty-five drugs will be tested for in the laboratory, as listed in Schedule 5 of the Land Transport Act 1998.

“The addition of roadside drug driver testing to our existing practices, like the Compulsory Impairment Test (CIT), is about ensuring we have the tools to deter and detect those drivers who have taken drugs.”

He said the testing regime had one key message behind it: don’t drive drugged.

“If you take drugs that impair your ability to drive safely, you could risk your life and the lives of others on our roads.”

Drivers will be tested for THC (cannabis), methamphetamine, MDMA and cocaine.

Drivers who test positive will be banned from driving for 12 hours and will need to submit a saliva sample for more detailed lab testing.

If the lab test finds drugs are present, drivers will face fines and demerits.

The launch of the testing regime was announced by Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Police Minister Mark Mitchell, with Bishop claiming around 30% of all road deaths involve drugs.

“Drug-impaired drivers are a menace on New Zealand roads,” he said.

Dr Rose Crossin, senior lecturer at the University of Otago’s Department of Public Health, said impaired driving “is a serious issue in New Zealand, and one that merits attention”.

She did have concerns, however.

“It is only testing for the presence of a drug, not impairment,” she said.

“This is particularly an issue for cannabis - the mostly commonly used illegal drug in NZ - which stays in the body for longer, and can be detected after any intoxication or impairing effects have passed.”

“This perpetuates a significant issue in our understanding of drugs – the equating of use with harm.

“I query the value of investing in a programme that is only testing for the presence of illegal drugs, rather than focussing the programme on impairment, where the potential for harm truly lies.”

Her concerns were echoed by Dr Geoff Noller, University of Otago Department of Primary Health Care and Rural Health research fellow.

“Clearly, improving road safety is an important priority,” he said.

“The new strategy is, however, not without issues, both technical and social.

“Testing for THC is a case in point. With cannabis that is vaped or smoked, the device can detect THC in the oral cavity for around 8 to 12 hours at least.

“With frequent or heavy users this can potentially extend to 30 hours, well beyond the time that a person consuming cannabis might be impaired,” he said.

'One of the questions arising from this type of testing, therefore, is whether it detects actual impairment or is more likely to identify that a person has used cannabis at some time but is not impaired.“

Dr Fiona Hutton, Victoria University of Wellington Institute of Criminology associate professor, was even blunter in her criticism.

“Driving while impaired with any drug, whether it be prescribed medications, drugs like alcohol or illicit drugs like cannabis, is dangerous and should be avoided,” she said.

“However, this is an ill thought out piece of legislation, focused on a small number of illicit drugs, that will not address the harms from drug impaired driving - mainly because it will be testing for presence rather than impairment.”