editorial comment So it is not about impaired driving then??? The highway to serfdom yet again....

Victoria Police have denied its officers identified to the media the world's first driver alleged to have returned a positive roadside drug test.

John De Jong, 39, says he is considering suing the police force after media reports on Monday alleged he tested positive for marijuana and methamphetamine, becoming the the first driver to fail the new drugs test launched that morning.

Mr De Jong says he had not smoked marijuana in four weeks.

"He's arrived home from work to find his children and family in tears, having seen his face plastered across the television," said solicitor Katalin Blond of Slater and Gordons.

Ms Blond told ABC radio Mr De Jong might bring a suits for defamation and breach of privacy.

"My client's rights have clearly been violated," Ms Blond said.

Police have issued a statement defending the testing process.

The statement, from Assistant Director Media Kevin Loomes, said police had followed normal procedures and had asked the media to respect Mr De Jong's privacy.

"Police at no stage identified the man and had requested the media likewise not to identify this person as the matter was still pending," the statement said.

In order to be subject to prosecution or fines, both of which are options under an amendment to the Road Safety Act, a driver must provide a positive roadside test after which a test accurate enough to be used in court must be provided.

Mr De Jong was identified in television reports Monday as the first driver in the world to return a positive roadside test on the basis of the results of a preliminary test. The analysis of Mr De Jong's evidentiary test should be available by the end of the week.

"We're not even in a position to dispute the validity of the test yet," Ms Blond said.

On Monday, Victoria Police had expressed surprise at how quickly they had tallied the first positive test. Mr De Jong was only the fourth person tested and the test took place only 15 minutes after Victoria Police's new drug bus began its operation.

Assistant Commissioner Bob Hastings said police had taken steps to calm the media fenzy around Mr De Jong's result.

"We knew that there was intense media interest in this because it was a first and as a consequence we took an approach to control the situation and advised the media to be there at a certain time where they could watch what occurred," assistant commissioner Hastings said.

"At no stage did we identify him. We advised the media who were present at the scene not to identify him and after the process had been completed at the scene, we understand that he actually conducted a short media interview himself at the time."

"Following the process, he was also asked by an independent sub-officer was he satisfied with his treatment by police, of which he said he was. He was also asked if he understood what it was all about, which he did. And he was also asked if he had a copy or a sample of his own which he
could analyse."

"We conducted a process no differently to what we always do at our booze bus and in our random drug testing sites. So we believe that we complied with the legislation and we endeavoured to protect the privacy as best we could."

In a launch of the program on November 30, Inspector Martin Boorman said there was no floor for detection of illicit drugs that would be analogous to the 0.05 level established in the case of blood alcohol content.

He conceded that the tests, which detect marijuana and methamphetamine, would out drivers who had indulged whether they were impaired at the time of testing or not.

"The point is, both substances at totally illegal," inspector Boorman said. "So they shouldn't be taking them anyway."

Inspector Boorman also conceded that different people would metabolise drugs more quickly than others. Some people would provide positive tests results for longer periods than others after having taken an illicit substance, regardless of their level of driving impairment.

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