'Test for heroin': MP calls for roadside testing of deadly opioid

A Transport for NSW spokesperson said mobile drug testing (MDT) only detects the presence of four illegal drugs. Those are ecstasy, cannabis, cocaine and methamphetamine (including speed and ice).

Opioids are not on the list because they could be prescribed for pain management.

Fifteen per cent of all roadside drug tests were positive between 2022/23 compared to only 0006 per cent of all random breath tests, according to NSW Police statistics.

Independent MP Rod Roberts said the lack of testing for heroin, which is considered an opioid, was "very concerning".

"You can be whacked out of your head on heroin and test negative and be told drive on," he said.

The NSW road toll is 25 per cent higher than at this time last year and Mr Roberts said people driving under the influence of drugs, whether illegal or illicit, played a significant role in that higher number.

"If that is not evidence enough we should be testing drivers for prescription medications I don't know what is," he said.

Mr Roberts, a former cop who lives in Goulburn, said their needed to be a broader conversation around prescription drug use too.

Around 1.5 million people every year are prescribed opioids or about half the population at some time over a decade.

The National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program suggests heroin consumption in Australia is relatively low but has fluctuated over time. The estimated weight of heroin consumed peaked at 1,077 kilograms in 2021-22, before decreasing to 999 kilograms in 2022-23.