Come to New Zealand and die

[Banditbandit]

Have you got a link to that? I must have missed it.

Toxicology analysis of the balloon pilot after the accident tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), suggesting he may have been under the influence of cannabis at the time of the crash, which ultimately lead to the error of judgement.

The pilot was Lance Robert Hopping, 53. He was found to have levels of THC - an active ingredient in cannabis - of two micrograms per litre of blood.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Ca..._balloon_crash

A report quoted in court found the level of cannabis in Mr Hopper's blood was consistent with a person smoking within five hours of the flight.

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/firs...aps-up-5969010

[blue rider]

I dispute this strongly. I can quite easily and safely operate a vehicle and (possibly) a hot air balloon after a couple of pints. Half a joint though, I'm a blithering fucken idiot.

and this is precisely the assumption that usually gets innocent bystanders, pillions or passengers killed, cause when push comes to shove....any and all drugs have some effect on our nervous system and our reaction time.

best is to be sober when operating a vehicle and get shitfaced when at home

[Katman]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Ca..._balloon_crash




http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/firs...aps-up-5969010

Not exactly what I would call conclusive evidence.

I'm sure if the police were confident that the pilot was impaired at the time they would have come out and said so.

[Banditbandit]

Not exactly what I would call conclusive evidence.

I'm sure if the police were confident that the pilot was impaired at the time they would have come out and said so.

Hmm .. it's a bit of a judgement call. And I don't believe the police are qualified to make that call.

I do know that if I had smoked a joint within five hours I would still be impaired by the THC ... Now the hard core like Akzle may well argue - my experience is that I would still be stoned five hours after smoking a joint (especially if I smoked it alone - i.e. all of it myself).

And if the police did come out and say that there would be a huge scream of "prove it" from the doubters...

You can make your own judgement - I call it he was stoned and fucked up ..

[Katman]

Hmm .. it's a bit of a judgement call. And I don't believe the police are qualified to make that call.

I do know that if I had smoked a joint within five hours I would still be impaired by the THC ... Now the hard core like Akzle may well argue - my experience is that I would still be stoned five hours after smoking a joint (especially if I smoked it alone - i.e. all of it myself).

And if the police did come out and say that there would be a huge scream of "prove it" from the doubters...

You can make your own judgement - I call it he was stoned and fucked up ..

So you're taking as gospel the report saying the traces of THC were consistent with someone smoking within 5 hours? (If testing methods are that accurate why are work places not actually testing for impairment rather than just traces)?

The police have stated that it was unlikely that the smoking the pilot was seen to be doing before the flight was Cannabis. The flight took off at 6.30am and crashed about 40 minutes later.

I suppose it's possible that the pilot sparked up a super early number before he left home in the morning but it's just as possible that he smoked the previous night and that the report isn't as accurate as they might like you to believe.

As I've already stated, if the pilot was actually impaired then he deserves to be condemned for it. I haven't seen anything that states that conclusively though.

[Banditbandit]

So you're taking as gospel the report saying the traces of THC were consistent with someone smoking within 5 hours?

Yes - given the level, that's a definite.

If testing methods are that accurate why are work places not actually testing for impairment rather than traces?

While it is true that cannabis can be detected in the human metabolism three months after it was consumed, there is considerable argument about what that means in terms of impairment. Even at the level of the balloon pilot, no-one wants to say conclusively "impaired".

The police have stated that it was unlikely that the smoking the pilot was seen to be doing before the flight was Cannabis. The flight took off at 6.30am and crashed about 40 minutes later.

I suppose it's possible that the pilot sparked up a super early number before he left home in the morning but it's just as possible that he smoked the previous night and that the report isn't as accurate as they might like you to believe.

A flight at 6.30 - with cannabis smoked within five hours - means about 1.30am he may have had a joint and then gone to bed? I doubt it - I think he smoked at home before he went to fly that morning .. If he did smoke at 1.340am (earliest) and went to bed - then he woke up stoned/half asleep and in not state to fly .. . Naaa .. he had an early one at home ...

As I've already stated, if the pilot was actually impaired then he deserves to be condemned for it. I haven't seen anything that states that conclusively though.

And you are never likely to see anyone official come out and say that - conclusive proof is difficult ...

[Katman]

And you are never likely to see anyone official come out and say that - conclusive proof is difficult ...

http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/r...s/cannabis.htm

Interpretation of Blood Concentrations: It is difficult to establish a relationship between a person's THC blood or plasma concentration and performance impairing effects. Concentrations of parent drug and metabolite are very dependent on pattern of use as well as dose. THC concentrations typically peak during the act of smoking, while peak 11-OH THC concentrations occur approximately 9-23 minutes after the start of smoking. Concentrations of both analytes decline rapidly and are often < 5 ng/mL at 3 hours. Significant THC concentrations (7 to 18 ng/mL) are noted following even a single puff or hit of a marijuana cigarette. Peak plasma THC concentrations ranged from 46-188 ng/mL in 6 subjects after they smoked 8.8 mg THC over 10 minutes. Chronic users can have mean plasma levels of THC-COOH of 45 ng/mL, 12 hours after use; corresponding THC levels are, however, less than 1 ng/mL. Following oral administration, THC concentrations peak at 1-3 hours and are lower than after smoking. Dronabinol and THC-COOH are present in equal concentrations in plasma and concentrations peak at approximately 2-4 hours after dosing.

It is inadvisable to try and predict effects based on blood THC concentrations alone, and currently impossible to predict specific effects based on THC-COOH concentrations. It is possible for a person to be affected by marijuana use with concentrations of THC in their blood below the limit of detection of the method. Mathematical models have been developed to estimate the time of marijuana exposure within a 95% confidence interval. Knowing the elapsed time from marijuana exposure can then be used to predict impairment in concurrent cognitive and psychomotor effects based on data in the published literature.

Interpretation of Urine Test Results: Detection of total THC metabolites in urine, primarily THC-COOH-glucuronide, only indicates prior THC exposure. Detection time is well past the window of intoxication and impairment. Published excretion data from controlled clinical studies may provide a reference for evaluating urine cannabinoid concentrations; however, these data are generally reflective of occasional marijuana use rather than heavy, chronic marijuana exposure. It can take as long as 4 hours for THC-COOH to appear in the urine at concentrations sufficient to trigger an immunoassay (at 50ng/mL) following smoking. Positive test results generally indicate use within 1-3 days; however, the detection window could be significantly longer following heavy, chronic, use. Following single doses of Marinol®, low levels of dronabinol metabolites have been detected for more than 5 weeks in urine. Low concentrations of THC have also been measured in over-the-counter hemp oil products – consumption of these products may produce positive urine cannabinoid test results.

(I threw in the Urine test information to show that workplace testing is a crock of shit).

[Grubber]

http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/r...s/cannabis.htm

Interpretation of Blood Concentrations: It is difficult to establish a relationship between a person's THC blood or plasma concentration and performance impairing effects. Concentrations of parent drug and metabolite are very dependent on pattern of use as well as dose. THC concentrations typically peak during the act of smoking, while peak 11-OH THC concentrations occur approximately 9-23 minutes after the start of smoking. Concentrations of both analytes decline rapidly and are often < 5 ng/mL at 3 hours. Significant THC concentrations (7 to 18 ng/mL) are noted following even a single puff or hit of a marijuana cigarette. Peak plasma THC concentrations ranged from 46-188 ng/mL in 6 subjects after they smoked 8.8 mg THC over 10 minutes. Chronic users can have mean plasma levels of THC-COOH of 45 ng/mL, 12 hours after use; corresponding THC levels are, however, less than 1 ng/mL. Following oral administration, THC concentrations peak at 1-3 hours and are lower than after smoking. Dronabinol and THC-COOH are present in equal concentrations in plasma and concentrations peak at approximately 2-4 hours after dosing.

It is inadvisable to try and predict effects based on blood THC concentrations alone, and currently impossible to predict specific effects based on THC-COOH concentrations. It is possible for a person to be affected by marijuana use with concentrations of THC in their blood below the limit of detection of the method. Mathematical models have been developed to estimate the time of marijuana exposure within a 95% confidence interval. Knowing the elapsed time from marijuana exposure can then be used to predict impairment in concurrent cognitive and psychomotor effects based on data in the published literature.

Interpretation of Urine Test Results: Detection of total THC metabolites in urine, primarily THC-COOH-glucuronide, only indicates prior THC exposure. Detection time is well past the window of intoxication and impairment. Published excretion data from controlled clinical studies may provide a reference for evaluating urine cannabinoid concentrations; however, these data are generally reflective of occasional marijuana use rather than heavy, chronic marijuana exposure. It can take as long as 4 hours for THC-COOH to appear in the urine at concentrations sufficient to trigger an immunoassay (at 50ng/mL) following smoking. Positive test results generally indicate use within 1-3 days; however, the detection window could be significantly longer following heavy, chronic, use. Following single doses of Marinol®, low levels of dronabinol metabolites have been detected for more than 5 weeks in urine. Low concentrations of THC have also been measured in over-the-counter hemp oil products – consumption of these products may produce positive urine cannabinoid test results.

(I threw in the Urine test information to show that workplace testing is a crock of shit).

Urine testing can tell us if there has been a hit in the last 6 days.
We had a guy tested on a Friday and was found to have enough to indicate usage in the last 6 days.
Which meant he was driving a 50 ton rig through the night while he was using on the Saturday night prior.
Ill take that result and run with it thanks. We sacked him!

[Katman]

Urine testing can tell us if there has been a hit in the last 6 days.
We had a guy tested on a Friday and was found to have enough to indicate usage in the last 6 days.
Which meant he was driving a 50 ton rig through the night while he was using on the Saturday night prior.
Ill take that result and run with it thanks. We sacked him!

And that's a prime example of why it's a crock of shit.

[Grubber]

And that's a prime example of why it's a crock of shit.

I have no fuckin idea how you could come to that conclusion from what i have written above! Are you stoned as well?

[Katman]

I have no fuckin idea how you could come to that conclusion from what i have written above! Are you stoned as well?

It's a crock of shit because you clearly have no interest in whether the employee was actually impaired or not.

[Drew]

It's a crock of shit because you clearly have no interest in whether the employee was actually impaired or not.

And since the driver has no way to prove he wasn't, he needs to accept that he was sacked.

Off topic though.

If this cat had smoked in the last five hours, I am willing to condemn him straight away.

[Katman]

And since the driver has no way to prove he wasn't, he needs to accept that he was sacked.

I'm sure he knew the rules Drew.

All I'm saying is that until some effort is made to determine a person's level of impairment then the rules are a crock of shit

[Akzle]

Bottom line, I will never believe it doesn't impare judgement and reactive times.

come up with the test, ill do a before an after.

[Grubber]

It's a crock of shit because you clearly have no interest in whether the employee was actually impaired or not.

You fuckin serious.
5 days prior to test he obviously was and he was in possession of one of our $600,000 rigs with a million bucks worth of goods on, driving on the same road as your grand kids and every other road user as well.

As usual your still a bloody retard!
Back on ignore!