Posted on 12/12/2014 12:12:06 PM PST by ConservingFreedom
The hand-held breath test, which is expected to become available in February, can detect a presence of THC on the breath for up to two hours after use. (Credit: courtesy photo)
Six months after New York State lawmakers voted to legalize marijuana use for medicinal purposes — and as pot laws become more relaxed across the U.S. — the availability of a breath analysis test to help determine if drivers are under the influence is that much closer.
Researchers with a Canadian company called Cannabix Technologies Inc. say they have the technology for a THC detection test that’s similar to an alcohol breath test. And local law enforcement officials say such a device, once available, will be a welcome addition to an officer’s tool belt. Currently, officers who believe a driver is under the influence of the mind-altering drug have no option but to pursue blood testing to determine the presence of THC, so results are not immediate and often require a warrant.
“I think it would definitely be helpful as a roadside test, but just like with alcohol, you still need to bring someone back to headquarters and get results you can prosecute them on,” said Southold Police Chief Martin Flatley.
To justify taking a person back to headquarters, officers currently rely on field observations, such as seeing or smelling marijuana.
“If someone was smoking marijuana, usually it has such a strong odor that it is really pretty easy for officers to identify,” he said. “But any tool like that, that helps us to identify an impairment, is useful.”
Cannabix president Kal Malhi, a retired member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said development of the breath test began in April 2013, thanks in part to a number of police officers who invested in the idea.
“When medicinal use made it more readily available and recreational legalization made it more socially acceptable, we believed there needed to be a tool available to address driving or workplace needs,” Mr. Malhi said.
The test, which is administered in the same fashion as an alcohol breath test, can detect THC for up to two hours after marijuana use — no matter how it is ingested, as the lungs will eliminate THC over a two-hour period, he explained.
The current test cannot quantify the amount of the chemical, though the company said that is the next step in advancing the technology.
“While blood is accurate in getting the THC content, for police or a workplace to do a blood sample — it is a very invasive process,” Mr. Malhi said. “Police need the help of a medical professional and it is a lengthy process — and most emergency rooms are already busy.”
Mr. Malhi said the goal is to make the device available to police departments for around the same price as current alcohol breath tests, between $800 and $1,200.
He said Cannabix is currently waiting on a number of patents for the technology and expects prototypes to become available in February.
Riverhead Police Chief David Hegermiller said he was happy to hear a tool is in the works, adding that combining it with available breath analysis technology to test for both THC and alcohol at once would be even more efficient for officers in the field.
The 24-page Compassionate Care Act, signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in July, makes New York the 23rd state in the country to allow the sale of medical marijuana, which will be available only in edible and vaporized form. The legislation establishes a registry process and requires patient ID cards for those seeking to use marijuana. The state’s department of health now has 18 months to develop guidelines regulating dosage amounts.
Evan Nison, a co-founder and director of the New York Cannabis Alliance, said, “We certainly want to make sure that people who are driving too drunk, high or tired are not behind the wheel, and this is taking a step towards that.”
He said the THC detection technology will help “bring comfort to the general population and also make sure people who are impaired aren’t driving — and that those who do are held responsible.”
Mr. Nison said as long as the regulatory processes that come along with the technology are fair, the availability of a curbside test is a positive step toward the legalization of marijuana.
“A majority of New Yorkers, they support legalization but those numbers could go up even further if there is that comfort there,” he said.
well good.....now we’ll see how much havoc weed causes.....
Probably a lot less than the lawmakers mischief. The cure will be worse than the illness.
And what’s the level to be considered too impaired to drive?
“I only had one joint...the size of a Churchill cigar”
Houston we have a problem:
All Field Sobriety Tests are VOLUNTARY, NOBODY is ever required to take one. Nor is anybody required to blow in a hand held device in the field, it also is VOLUNTARY.
Only Drug and Alcohol testing taken in a controlled environment(at the station, with a licensed,calibrated machine or Blood Test taken by a Licensed Physician or Practitioner AFTER ARREST are admissible.
AH!.. Police arrest someone for pot altering behavior...
THEN: the judges let them go...
The Keystone Cops was serious BUSINESS...
American justice is just an unserious game..
Being in a gang is LEGAL... and in some places advantageous..
Lots of gangs.. FOR...................
Democracy you see (( IS )) Mob Rule by Mobsters..
Being a democrat SHOULD be illegal.. for a hundred reasons..
NO... democracy has ever yet been democratic..
AND WILL NEVER BE... an elite ALWAYS rules..
Democracy is scam of the first order.. a lie.. i.e. Unicorns..
If weed was causing true havoc, we wouldn't need a breath tester to see it.
“I only had one joint...the size of a Churchill cigar”
It's set by the state, and measured in blood concentration of THC not number of joints.
I saw that in the article, My point is Most people think they are Required to take these tests, and the Police will ALWAYS LIE and tell you it is required and if you refuse that they will arrest you, ALWAYS refuse, for it absolutely removes “reasonable suspicion” if arrested. They have NO Probable Cause with no evidence, your field sobriety test is the EVIDENCE they desperately need to make an arrest. Otherwise just about any lawyer will have the case dismissed for False Arrest and all evidence gathered after said false arrest is NO GOOD.
The fact that they smell like a burning rope factory has always been a dead giveaway to me. That and cheetos and inappropriate giggling.
CC
“ALWAYS refuse, for it absolutely removes “reasonable suspicion” if arrested. They have NO Probable Cause with no evidence, your field sobriety test is the EVIDENCE they desperately need to make an arrest.”
That would be fine and dandy if you did not automatically lose your drivers license for a whole year if you do refuse.
An objective test is more help in pursuing a DUI conviction.
That and cheetos
The orange powder makes it harder to grip the steering wheel.
Yea, and while we are at it, let’s reinstate Prohibition, for the good of the people, because it worked so well the first time.
The cure has become worse than the disease. End the WOD now.
This is about “Field Sobriety” Tests, they absolutely are VOLUNTARY in EVERY STATE. Once Arrested if you refuse at the Station or Hospital, that is the only time they can use that against you and take your license, not Field Sobriety Tests
“Nor is anybody required to blow in a hand held device in the field, it also is VOLUNTARY.”
Yup, totally voluntary. You are free to refuse and have your drivers license revoked for a year, and be hauled to a hospital to have blood drawn at your expense.
But you’re right, it’s your choice. That is the law in MI.
That works even better with five guys in a VW beetle. (I imagine) The slide back roof is handy too.
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