How Will Cops Catch Stoned Drivers?

One thing no stoner wants to admit is that cops are getting closer to finding a viable roadside THC detector. We hate to admit it, but they're coming, and in fact some versions already exist. For those of you who wish that I'm lying, just read my other blog posting where I describe why it's actually necessary for stoners to welcome the coming THC breathalyzers: https://steemit.com/writing/@rtfasm/puff-puff-fail-the-emergence-of-thc-breathalyzers

Most people wonder how these THC detectors will function and what they'll look like. Anyone who's had a job interview or any kind of negative encounter with the police may have had to submit a urine or blood test to check for levels of narcotics in their body, but those results are often misrepresentative of what the true influence a foreign chemical may have on each individual. For example, being tested for THC doesn't necessarily mean the psychoactive chemical is currently functioning within your body. It may simply be representative of the wasteful bi-product the body creates to metabolize such chemicals.

Thankfully, a handful of scientists and entrepreneurs have set out to create a reliable THC detector police can use on roadside traffic stops to accurately gauge whether a person is truly stoned. This is good news for everyone, stoners included. The inaccuracy of blood tests practically demands that a more humanitarian approach to driver sobriety detection be found. Here are the companies that currently have the highest likelihood of introducing a nationwide THC detector.

Hound Lab THC Breathalyzer

Hound Labs seems to be the front runner at the moment. Their handheld device is similar to current alcohol breathalyzers. The user simply breathes into the device and the level of THC metabolites populates on the screen. What's amazing about this device is that it, like its competitors, only detects THC levels available in the breath for two to three hours after a user smokes. This means the device is calibrated to only measure the level of THC that implies inebriation within initial consumption. Just like alcohol, the longer it's been since an individual smoked, the less likely any THC will be detected by the device, which means that medical patients won't be arrested for having smoked as long as it's been longer than 2-3 hours. Edibles, as it turns out, takes longer for your body to digest, which means that edible marijuana will be detectible in the bloodstream for much longer, though Hound Labs has not determined exactly how long that period of detection ultimately is.

Cannabix is another company that, similar to Hound Labs, is trying to follow the alcohol breathalyzer's footsteps, and has introduced their own model of THC breathalyzer. However, their model is still undergoing scientific tests, and has yet to be tested in real-world conditions the same way Hound Labs has been, though it's safe to assume that the two devices function similarly.

Cannabix Breathalyzer Currently In Development

Another really exciting version is a model that automakers foresee installing as a standard option for starting a car in the near future: fingerprint based rapid drug testing. The UK based company Intelligent Fingerprinting has developed such a device which they say detects a number of intoxicating substances within the bloodstream. Their non-invasive and portable device can detect trace amounts of metabolites the body develops when metabolizing narcotics via trace amounts of sweat collected in a fingerprint sample. Substances such as amphetamines, cannabis, cocaine, and opiates are tested for simultaneously within the ten minutes it takes the device to run the tests. If this technology takes off, I suspect that most cars will have some form of this device preinstalled by the manufacturer within the next five to ten years.

Sources:
http://houndlabs.com/
https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-09-13/pot-breathalyzer-hits-the-street
http://www.intelligentfingerprinting.com/technology/?lang=en-US
http://www.cannabixtechnologies.com/thc-breathalyzer.html
https://pixabay.com/en/hippie-bob-marley-marijuana-drugs-738189/

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