Roadside marijuana breathalyzers coming to a police department near you

Tens of millions of drivers face the prospect of a breathalyzer test for cannabis in the coming years in the U.S.

The much-feared breathalyzer for weed isn’t going to rely on breathing, however, it’s going to use spit. And when combined with unjust, new “zero tolerance” laws, futuristic roadside THC tests promise to pick up where the old fashioned drug war left off.

Driving Under the Influence investigations begin with such checkpoints, or a roadside stop for an infraction of some kind. If an officer suspects DUI, he or she will administer a motor skills test, and in the case of alcohol, an alcohol detection screening commonly dubbed a ‘breathalyzer’.

The portable handheld device gives officers a basic idea of a person’s blood alcohol content and anything over .08 is a “per se” DUI, meaning it doesn’t matter if you don’t feel or act drunk, legally you are considered drunk. Failing a breathalyzer test will lead to your arrest and urine or blood testing back at the station, which is used in a defendant’s trial, notes California attorney Omar Figueroa.

For weed, things are different. In California, it’s illegal to drive high on any drug, but there is no “per se” limit set for weed. (Scientifically, the amount of marijuana compounds in a person’s system does not correlate to impairment.) So if an officer thinks you’re high, they can give you a skills test, but there’s no breathalyzer stage to back up what an officer suspects. Drivers suspected of a marijuana DUI have to be cuffed and taken in for a urine or blood draw, which takes time and money, so it’s often reserved for serious injury collisions.

Baltimore research Sarah Himes published a study in the Journal of Breath Research that caught fire. She collected exhaled breath from 24 smokers and non-smokers using breath pads and tested them for THC, the main active ingredient in marijuana. Sure enough, she could tell who had just smoked a joint and who hadn’t.

“Breath may offer an alternative matrix for testing for recent driving under the influence of cannabis, but is limited to a short detection time (0.5-2 h),” the paper concludes.

Huffington Post, Mother Jones and others jumped on the story, despite that fact that the science behind testing breath for THC goes back to at least 1982. The method is also totally impractical in the field, where untrained officers need to rapidly assay the presence and concentration of pot in a driver’s system.

A company called SenseAbuse also made waves in 2013 after the press billed it as a breathalyzer for marijuana. Again, subjects had to exhale into a cartridge which had to be sent off to a lab for analysis. That can take weeks, so it’s not a real breathalyzer.

While many are wringing their hands about a theoretical study and an impractical device, drivers are going to jail for failing a roadside THC screen — just overseas. The Europeans are years ahead of the U.S. on road safety — with novel new kits for detecting the presence of marijuana and other drugs, combined with stiff zero tolerance “per se” laws to send sober smokers to jail.

Europe’s zero tolerance “per se” drug laws have become all the rage in U.S. law enforcement circles, notes California attorney Omar Figueroa. Fourteen states, predominantly in the Midwest, will lock you up if you’re sober, but still have any byproducts of marijuana in your system.

For example, under the Arizona per se law, a regular weed user is technically DUI in Arizona for up to a month after he or she quits. Every year Californians must beat back copycat laws calling for zero tolerance “per se” limits on marijuana that are promulgated by police lobbies, notes Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of NORML.

“Detecting THC is not the same as impairment,” he said. “I abhor the policy.”

“Per se” limits mean the government doesn’t have to prove you are high, he said. They are massively unjust, and a vindictive sheriff in a “per se” state - like Arizona - could easily buy and deploy a bunch of DrugWipes at DUI checkpoints near a college or a concert to generate DUIs, convictions and law enforcement income.

“What’s to stop Sheriff Joe Arpaio? Nothing,” Armentano said. “But it hasn’t happened yet.”
http://ireadculture.com/article-3132-failing-the-smell-test.html
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/are-roadside-cannabis-breathalyzer-tests-around-corner