- Dental assistant held in custody following OxyShred causing a methamphetamine test result
- Attorney claims roadside ‘lick tests’ are highly unreliable
- Third test passed her; lawyer cautions others less fortunate
A young dental assistant says a well-known post-workout energy drink led to her testing positive for methamphetamine in a police roadside drug test.
The SydneyA woman has shared how she ended up crying inside a police testing van following her arrest for testing positive for an illegal drug.
She mentioned that her terrifying experience started when she was heading home from a gym session, having consumed a $4.90 can of OxyShred.
A coffee-based beverage is promoted by manufacturer EHPlabs as a ‘fat-burning thermogenic agent, intended to enhance metabolic rate, elevate energy levels, and support weight reduction’.
The woman stated that she had ‘skolled’ the last of her Kiwi Strawberry OxyShred can while driving when she was stopped for a random test the following day.Anzac Day.
She mentioned that the police officers initially performed a breath test on her, followed by a roadside drug examination.
But as she calmly awaited the outcome, she was shocked by their return.
He came over to the car and said, ‘You’re under arrest, you’ve tested positive for meth,’” she shared. “I’ve never used meth in my life, never have, never will.
I believed he was joking with me, so I asked, ‘sorry, what’?
The fitness enthusiast started crying when she was taken into the testing vehicle for additional swabs that would eventually be sent to a lab.
“And I’m, like, completely overwhelmed right now. I’m, like, losing it. I begin to cry,” she said.
Traffic law legal expert Karen Stanley stated that the roadside saliva test, also referred to as a ‘lick test,’ serves only as a preliminary screening method.
However, if drivers test positive, it allows law enforcement to conduct additional examinations.
This frequently includes a second saliva sample collected within a mobile testing unit, which is subsequently forwarded to a lab for comprehensive examination.
“Those tongue tests are renowned for being extremely unreliable,” Ms. Stanley said to the Daily Mail.
I keep hearing about it constantly. You aren’t required to take the second test with the police, but there would be consequences if you declined.
In the majority of Australian states, drivers are not officially charged until laboratory results verify the existence of an illegal drug.
The woman stated that she consistently informed the officers that she could not have ingested methamphetamine.
In my mind, I was thinking, excuse me, sir, I didn’t even leave the house on Anzac Day,” she said. “How come I tested positive for meth?
She mentioned she inquired of the officer about the frequency of false positives in roadside testing, and he informed her that they were uncommon, with a 94 percent accuracy rate.
He was very disrespectful,” she added. “They were treating me as if I were the meth user.
Ms. Stanley mentioned that incorrect positive results may happen when legal substances, like medications or components, cause a response comparable to an illegal drug.
“Many factors can lead to a false positive,” she stated.
I’m not sure if the drink caused it, but the tests aren’t very reliable and often produce such results. Individuals can face immediate disqualification based on this.
The outcomes of the second test may require several days or weeks to be finalized, and although their driving permit should be restored once this occurs, there are instances where it isn’t.
Then individuals have no alternative but to visit a lawyer and spend $3,000 to attend court in order to resolve the issue.
I frequently come across discussions about this issue and have also read research on it.
The upset woman inquired whether she could drive home and was then subjected to a third test by the police, which yielded a negative result, allowing her to depart.
However, Ms. Stanley mentions that things could have been much worse for her.
“That’s the police exceeding their usual responsibilities,” she clarified.
People can lose their license in this manner. Picture being a truck driver or similar, and having your job and means of earning a living taken away.
A dental assistant later inquired with ChatGPT about what might have caused the false positive, by listing all the items she had ingested that day, such as her pre-workout supplement, water, and the can of OxyShred.
“The AI mentioned that the components in OxyShred—specifically the bitter orange extract and another ingredient—might lead to a false positive in an unexpected drug test,” she stated in a video shared on social media.
She concluded the video with a caution for other gym enthusiasts and consumers of energy drinks: “If you’re taking OxyShred and are randomly tested, you could come back positive for meth.”
The video has now received over two million views, with hundreds of individuals expressing their opinions on the topic in the comments section.
“One told this, never used cocaine and mine tested positive for it,” said one.
“As a FIFO employee, the first question nurses ask before testing is whether we’ve taken a pre-workout or supplement, as it often shows up,” added another.
The very same thing happened to my partner,” said another person. “He was shocked when he tested positive—he hasn’t used drugs ever, and it was just an energy drink.
The NSW Police did not respond to questions regarding the reliability of field drug tests. The Daily Mail has reached out to Oxyshred for a statement.
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