PREMIER Mike Baird has used a visit to Dubbo to announce a package of tougher measures to tackle the scourge of ice in NSW, which would include a greater possibility of life imprisonment for dealers.
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Increased roadside drug testing, mandatory statewide online recording of pseudoephedrine sales in pharmacies and more funding for treatment and rehabilitation would also be forthcoming if the Coalition was re-elected on March 28.
The announcement as made during an inspection of a new state-of-the-art drug testing and education bus police had parked on Cobbora Road on Sunday morning to carry out drug tests on motorists.
Mr Baird said ice was a "life-destroying drug" and the package would target dealers, backyard manufacturers and "anyone reckless enough to get behind the wheel while high on drugs".
Mr Baird said in about 13 per cent of road fatalities it was found drivers had drugs in their bodies, and "that must stop".
The plan had been developed in consultation with police and health professionals, he said.
Mr Baird said halving the threshold required to charge dealers with possession of large commercial quantities for supply would mean more dealers faced a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, while powers to confiscate assets of serious dealers and traffickers would be boosted.
The number of roadside drug tests would also be tripled to almost 100,000 a year by 2016-17.
Meanwhile the Coalition pledged to boost treatment services for and community education about ice.
Rehabilitation centres would be rolled out to "areas of need", Mr Baird said, most likely the mid-north coast, western Sydney and the Illawarra areas.
"We're not pretending it solves the problem once and for all, but it's a significant start," he said.
Dubbo MP Grant said ice was tearing families apart in regional communities.
"In my 22 years as a country cop I have not seen a drug as corrosive to human decency as ice," he said.
Asked why none of the rehabilitation centres had been specifically earmarked for western NSW, Mr Grant said it was "not unfair at all" for local residents to expect that.
"This is today's announcement, obviously we'll work through the details with the experts about where they're going and how the resources will be allocated," he said. "But I'll certainly be making sure we get our fair share, with this issue, as I do every issue."
Roads minister Duncan Gay said ice knew no boundaries when it came to age or geography, and it was concerning that some heavy vehicle operators were using it recreationally and to prolong their driving hours.
"If someone wants to play with their own life, recreationally, that's a tragedy. If they want to play with other people's lives, families' lives, on the roads, that's just not acceptable," he said.
Mr Gay said in just under an hour the morning traffic operation had been running on Sunday, two drivers had been detected with drugs in their system.
"There are two people so far who I suspect won't be voting for this government, that have already been pulled up on the side of the road and that's two less idiots out there putting others' lives at risk," he said.
NSW Police western region traffic boss Inspector Jeff Boon said the officers would test drivers for alcohol then they could be given an oral swab from which, if they tested positive, they would be asked to step inside the bus for a more accurate test.
"If they test positive we'll ban them for driving for 24 hours and we get the sample analysed prior to taking legal action," he said.
"For those that have a problem with it (testing), remember the one minute you might be delayed, and we are certainly not going to apologise for it, that minute could mean a member of your family is alive tomorrow."
Inspector Boon said western NSW would soon receive two four-wheel-drive vehicles to be based in the region and an existing random breath test would be retro-fitted to boost drug-testing capability.
Western Region Commander Assistant Commissioner Geoff McKechnie said the drug bus was a wonderful addition to police arsenal when it came to combating road trauma.
"Statistics tell us one-in-25 drivers are testing positive to prohibited drugs, Dubbo and western NSW is no different to other parts of the state in that we'd expect there would be similar offences being committed here," he said.
"Having the ability to detect those drivers before they are involved in a collision is a great asset."