The ever-informative Technology Review previews new handheld drug detection devices by Philips that can be employed by law enforcement (or potentially one’s employer) to detect the presence of banned or illicit substances in the human body, notably cannabis.
This is indeed bittersweet news as there are two likely policy outcomes. The first is that drivers will be subject to more and more roadside drug tests, however the secondary policy outcomes may provide some benefit for individuals and society: a) Current roadside testing is notoriously inaccurate and subject to challenge, b) Most testing today performed by law enforcement is urine or hair follicle testing (which only measures for inert metabolites from past drug use, not impairment or recent use), a roadside ‘sobriety’ test that can detect very recent cannabis use (within a few hours) narrows the window of personal liability and criminality, and c) Many law enforcement personnel will agree in debate that the social controls created by legalization and regulation is ideally preferred to the international chaos, potential harm caused to police and ineffectiveness of prohibition–but the one inch of ground few police will yield on is driving while impaired.
Dozens of law enforcement officials, from patrol officers to heads of state police departments to state Attorneys General, have told me that they can not become converts to reform absent an accurate roadside test like they currently have for alcohol (which is an interesting and awkward way of acknowledging that current roadside drug tests police often give drivers are problematic)
Maybe, in time, the subset of American society that most vociferously opposes ending cannabis prohibition–the law enforcement community–will come to be sated by the satisfaction that similar to alcohol-impaired drivers, they’ll be able to fairly and accurately detect cannabis-impaired drivers.
After all, ask yourself this: When have you ever seen police or their industry associations (ie, Chiefs of Police Association, Fraternal Order of Police, etc…) publicly lobby in favor of bringing back alcohol prohibition and re-criminalizing alcohol consumption?
Have these law enforcement trade groups funded and supported public campaigns against impaired or reckless driving? Sure, and all the power to them! But, propagandizing that the producers, sellers and consumers of the very dangerous drug alcohol (or for that matter, pharmaceuticals) be considered common criminals, and a threat to society?
No. Americans will not (hopefully) ever see police and their trade groups seeking to re-vilify alcohol products.
What will it take to get the law enforcement community to finally support cannabis law reforms?
Our bittersweet friend…technology.
Device Offers a Roadside Dope Test
The system uses magnetic nanoparticles to detect traces of cocaine, heroin, cannabis, and methamphetamine.
By Alexander Gelfand
————————-
Later this year, Philips will introduce a handheld electronic device that uses magnetic nanoparticles to screen for five major recreational drugs.
The device is intended for roadside use by law enforcement agencies and includes a disposable plastic cartridge and a handheld analyzer. The cartridge has two components: a sample collector for gathering saliva and a measurement chamber containing magnetic nanoparticles. The particles are coated with ligands that bind to one of five different drug groups: cocaine, heroin, cannabis, amphetamine, and methamphetamine.
Philips began investigating the possibility of building a magnetic biodetector in 2001, two years after a team of researchers at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, DC, first used magnetic sensors similar to those employed in hard drives to sniff out certain biowarfare agents. The NRL scientists labeled biological molecules designed to bind to target agents with magnetic microbeads, and then scanned for the tagged targets optically and magnetically. The latter approach used the same giant magnetoresistant (GMR) sensors that read the bits on an iPod’s hard drive. They quickly developed a shoebox-sized prototype capable of detecting toxins, including ricin and anthrax.
Philips initially developed both a GMR sensor and an optical one that relies on frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR)–the same phenomenon that underlies fingerprint scanners and multitouch screens. The company decided to go the FTIR route in order to exploit its expertise in building optical sensors for consumer electronics devices, says Jeroen Nieuwenhuis, technical director of Philips Handheld Immunoassays, the division responsible for commercializing the biosensor technology, which goes by the trade name Magnotech.
Moving to an optical detection method also allowed Philips to simplify the test cartridges that the device employs, making them easier to mass-produce, says Nieuwenhuis. With the current FTIR-based system, “we can make simpler cartridges in larger quantities more easily,” he adds.
Once the device’s sample collector has absorbed enough saliva, it automatically changes color and can then be snapped into the measurement chamber, where the saliva and nanoparticles mix. An electromagnet speeds the nanoparticles to the sensor surface, different portions of which
have been pretreated with one of the five target-drug molecules. If traces of any of the five drugs are present in the sample, the nanoparticles will bind to them. If the sample is drug free, the nanoparticles will bind to the drug-coated sensor surface instead.
The orientation of the magnetic field that first drew the nanoparticles to the sensor is then reversed, pulling away any nano-labeled drug molecules that may accidentally have stuck to the sensor surface but leaving legitimately bound ones in place. This last magnetic trick promises to reduce what Larry Kricka, a clinical chemist at the University of Pennsylvania who recently co-authored an article in Clinical Chemistry on the use of magnetism in point-of-care testing, calls “a major restraint in such assays”: the unintentional capture of molecular labels on the test surface, a leading cause of both false positives and false negatives. Kricka is not involved with Philips but does serve as a consultant to T2 Biosciences, a Cambridge, MA, firm that promotes a magnetic biosensor based on MRI technology.
During the analysis phase, a beam of light is bounced off the sensor. Any nanoparticles bound to the surface will change its refractive index, thereby altering the intensity of the reflected light and indicating the concentration of drugs in the sample. By immobilizing different drug molecules on different portions on the sensor surface, the analyzer is able to identify the drug traces in question. An electronic screen displays instructions and a simple color-coded readout of the results.
The test takes less than 90 seconds and can detect drugs at concentrations measured in parts-per-billion using a single microliter of saliva.
The sensor is capable of even greater sensitivity–it has been used to detect cardiac troponin, a commonly used indicator of heart attack, at concentrations 1,000 times lower.
Philips plans ultimately to enter the healthcare market. It is working on a platform capable of testing blood as well as saliva and is seeking partners that can help expand its testing menu by providing it with additional biomarkers.
Other researchers have built experimental devices to magnetically detect a wide range of biomolecules in minuscule samples of blood or saliva at extremely low concentrations. Often this involves using microfluidic or magnetic forces to quickly shepherd the magnetically labeled molecules through scanners–though a group at the University of Utah has even built a prototype in which a sample-laden stick is swiped across a GMR sensor, like a credit-card through a reader.
The combination of high sensitivity, low sample volumes, miniaturization, speed, and ease of use has raised hopes for a handheld biosensor that could perform sophisticated tests with high accuracy.
“Everyone’s trying to get there,” says Kricka. “The question is who’s going to win?” With Philips set to introduce its drug tester in Europe by the end of the year in partnership with the British diagnostics firm Cozart, the consumer electronics maker appears poised to take the prize.
Published Tuesday, August 04, 2009 @ Technology Review.
It’s just a plant… I can’t believe this is how America labels a plant that god put on this earth.
All of you Americans are lazy good for nothing douche bags. The day it’s legalized is the day you quit letting your government decide everything for you… SOCIALISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but you’ll probably never meet that day because your too caught up in Jon & Kate + an 8 ball.
Fucking losers, they wont do anything till you get pissed off angry at these buffoons.
FUCK THAT FUCK PHILLIPS FUCK THE GOV
FUCK I GO @ WORK STONED I GET PULLED OVER STONED
THEY NEVER KNOW NOW THEY”LL BEABLE TO dectect it
their taking over over thorw the gov
OVER THROW!
OVER THROW!
If this will work (as explained) and will show when (some of our not so smart) partakers of this beautiful herb, it might just be the proverbial, straw that breaks the camels back. I personally know many police officers who are on the fence about legalization and the only reason is not being able to accurately test if a person is currently “intoxicated” drivers. No responsible activist wants to break the law, but right now the law is unfair. The only thing I worry about is the accuracy of this device. Will it only show if a driver currently has an active amount in their system? How can we be assured that this will work as intended?
Alas, I predict this is going to be just another tool for big brother at roadside check points. If someone is pulled over for a legitimate traffic offence where impairment is likely, its use would be for safer roads. Because there are no standards or settings measured for veritable impairment because of recent cannabis use, the leeway for misuse is left open. If you get stopped at a sobriety checkpoint, you could be coerced into consent. What if someone ingested cannabis but not enough to become impaired? There have to be some other kind of prongs to safeguard against further law enforcement abuses in their witchhunt against cannabis consumers. Just because this will get tested in the Netherlands and standards established does not mean the U.S. will adopt them. If you have ever watched any of officer Barry Cooper’s videos/dvds then the best thing would be simply never to consume in the vehicle or before getting behind the wheel, as well as never to have anything unnecessarily on your person.
Most law enforcement are merely concerned with furthering their own careers, and they don’t give a rat’s ass about the truth about cannabis.
I will NEVER forget what they did to Todd McCormick! Fucking Bastards!
The emergence of roadside testing technology eliminates one of the most significant arguments against meaningful law reform and is a very positive thing. Equally as important will be establishment of what detectible levels constitute “imparement”. A determination of how many parts per million rises to the level of imparement, needs to be derived from scientific observation of performance, and I’m sure will vary based upon an idividual’s physical traits. Ultimately, the development of a standard for imparement needs to be guided by emperically verifiable scientific facts, lest the fear surrounding drugs generally cause those best positioned to create a rubber stamp that no public official whose office is subject to voter approval ever dare challenge.
Excellent inveltigative reporting, Allan! I’ll have my eye on this.
I wonder how this will be used for MM people who medicate daily , if stopped by LEO. Just because you show traces of Cannabis in your system does not mean you are impaired , just as smelling alcohol on someones breath does not mean they are legally drunk. I fear that this tool will be used as a “throw net” to bust more cannabis users. If a cop wants to pull ANYONE over they can , and do, once they smell pot they can use this device to bust you . Also, seems like a violation of my 4th amendment rights.
“…but the one inch of ground few police will yield on is driving while impaired.”
Don’tcha mean will *not*?
Crud. Disregard that last. Hurray reading comprehension.
WOW BIG BROTHER in action.Does this device detect only if you have smoked in the last few hours or will it test and find even if you havent smoked for a few days.I for one will never submit to any roadside test, I already have to randomly be tested at my job and i hate that,but to be randomly pulled over and to have to do this is just totally a violation of one rights. I dont condone driving while high but if ive been high that night and then drive after ive come down this device would land me in jail.Whats next cameras in my car with the poilce watching me drive.This madness has to stop. I wonder if people taking opiate based prescription drugs will be arrested,think of how full our jails will be then..What a sad place this has become to live in.I found this quote by lincoln i think it really applies now more than ever>
“Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded” -Abraham Lincoln
– If levels of active-cannabinoids in
saliva can be accurately-correlated with
“degrees-of-impairment”,
could this be the END of
archaic, urine-based drug-tests and
UNSCIENTIFIC, “zero-tolerance”,”per-se” DUID laws?
(Which unfairly-penalize a motorist for
presence of weeks-old, inactive-metabolites,
rather than actual indicators of present impairment…)
ATTENTION ALL:
Please read this recently published American Scientist article: http://digg.com/general_sciences/The_Toxicity_of_Recreational_Drugs_American_Scientist
Titled: The Toxicity of Recreational Drugs.
Cliff notes: It turns out most illicit drugs are safer than alcohol. Marijuana is the safest of all recreational drugs with no known deaths ever recorded. Alcohol is one of the most toxic and unsafe drugs.
This article scares me. If the cops can pull this kinda crap on you when you’re driving, and even though being high while driving is less impairing than texting while driving, they can still haul your ass to jail, just because you’ve smoked that day. It said it could detect it if you’d smoked within a few hours of the test, not whether or not you’re actually high while taking the test; unlike the breathalyzer, which tells you exactly how drunk someone is.
Score one more for the good guys.
At least it takes away one of the arguments that prohibitionists use, which is the lack of field sobriety tests for marijuana.
Oh shiiiit,
I love how we use technology to make it seem what were saying is important and cutting-edge but really there’s no real need for ANY kind of testing, this may seem like a hard position to support but EVEN ALCOHOL.
If somebody is intoxicated and it is causing them to drive recklessly then should it even matter? I mean if someone was driving recklessly even when sober would you, as the police, not pull them over? Driving reckless is an offense already!
So my point is if you pull someone over for driving recklessly, and your the police, if they’re intoxicated then just take their keys and make them sleep in their car till they’re sober then they can call the station. It’s not like police do anything other than intimidate citizens.
If people can’t learn and they decide to get wasted and drive, then fuck em if they die.
Purpose: To “legalize” medicinal cannabis in all fifty (50) states, by its grass root supporters in all fifty (50) states. Make our numbers grow. More to come.
Could this be a neccesary evil for us to get our way? Or a tool to further villify us at the work place. If this device furthurs our cause then fine becuase then the ultimate legalization won’t breed career threatning action from our employers anylonger. As for the DWAI stuff, I would think I speak for 99% of us tokers out there in that the old moto rings true. “When I’m drunk my mind doesn’t recognize the danger in driving where as when I’m stoned I am fully awhere of myself and my state and have never felt the urge to drive”. So if you are caught, shame on you.
As long as they go after users of pharmaceuticels, I’m willing to suffer this. There will be so many DUIs in that first year, they’ll have to change everything about the processing, prosecuting and penalizing offenders. People are going to have to be extremely careful in the very near future.
The only thing that really scares me here is moving to use this technology while so many zero tolerance laws are still in place. As it is now, I think there will very quickly be a large number of people recieving very harsh sentences.
Unfortunately in America (and only in America), law enforcement and corrections are viewed as performing better when more people are being locked up. Anywhere else in the world this would be a very bad thing.
Big Brother creeps ever closer to power….
Such devices are complicated and expensive for the average law enforcement officer. They would have to have a special trained (another) police force to work with those high-tech gizmos which would eventually break and give out false readings and ruin the lives of innocent people. Those deviced will soon evolved into newer models and will be used without the victum knowing it. It will be used secretly on anybody who would pass by the secret police (full-time undercover officers).
Turning people into criminals is job security for the prohibitionist.
Such devices are complicated and expensive for the average law enforcement officer. They would have to have a special trained (another) police force to work with those high-tech gizmos which would eventually break and give out false readings and ruin the lives of innocent people. Those devices will soon evolved into newer models and will be used without the victum knowing it. It will be used secretly on anybody who would pass by the secret police (full-time undercover officers).
Turning people into criminals is job security for the prohibitionist.
Is this a step forward or back as far as decriminalizing ,meaning jobs can tell if u r on it jus like alcohol ??
like the breathalizer?
what about fillings in teeth or caps on teeth or other dental work??? could that potentially give false readings either way?? i’m just curious and a little confused. does anyone have an answer for these questions???
All drivers are impared, to some degree. They are distracted by: texting, using a cell phone, adjusting mirrors, putting on make-up, doing their hair, arranging items in the vehicle, gawking at a girl, eating, drinking, smoking, fiddling with their clothing, cleaning their windshield, changing radio channels/CDs, etc. Also, their vehicles are usually not mechanically sound with marginal brakes, worn suspension components, metal-fatigued steering components, inproperly inflated, missmatched and worn tires, dirty windshields and viewing mirrors, etc. Drivers are also frequently not focused on their driving because of emotional issues, preocupation with past and future tasks, laziness, etc. Almost all drivers are also under the influence of drugs, usually several, from coffee and alcohol to combinations among tens of thousands of over-the-counter and prescription drugs, as well as the relatively few drugs that are currently illicit. Many drivers are also too old, young or middle-aged to be on public roads. Even attempting to restrict driving while impared is laughable, unless we are willing and able to totally clear all roadways of all vehicle traffic. Will traffic officers be able to check for levels of emotional stability as well as THC levels? This is why the only viable criteria for driver roadworthiness should be safe, courteous, legal vehicle operation on a sustained basis, violations of the same verified only by failed performance.
oh well, guess I’m supposed to feel positive about this obvious double standard, but…my big pharma drugs hydrocodone (pain), and cyclobenzaprine (muscle relaxer) both have warning labels on the bottles stating, “May cause drowsiness. Alcohol and products containing alcohol may increase this effect.Be careful when operating a car or dangerous machinery” For me, these big pharma drugs are so powerful/strange side effects, I can only take one third of the prescribed amount, when I use them. Have they developed a test for all the zoned out big pharma ingesting drivers out there? Hey, don’t want to do that…could possibly cut into their bottom line profits. And the nonsense about continuing to compare Cannabis to alcohol…soooo wrong. And alcohol is legal: Cannabis plant is not….what are they going to do to you if you test positive, but are below the offense level…refer you to drug treatment? hahahahaha I’ve been using Cannabis for ~45 years/driving for ~40 years…maybe it’s just me, but I never had any driving problems, and just have no idea what, “the law enforcement community–will come to be sated by the satisfaction that similar to alcohol-impaired drivers, they’ll be able to fairly and accurately detect cannabis-impaired drivers.” really means. BTW…am I supposed to feel positive that “big brother” have a new way to see what’s in my body…FUCK YOU
oh well, guess I’m supposed to feel positive about this obvious double standard, but…my big pharma drugs hydrocodone (pain), and cyclobenzaprine (muscle relaxer) both have warning labels on the bottles stating, “May cause drowsiness. Alcohol and products containing alcohol may increase this effect.Be careful when operating a car or dangerous machinery” For me, these big pharma drugs are so powerful/strange side effects, I can only take one third of the prescribed amount, when I use them. Have they developed a test for all the zoned out big pharma ingesting drivers out there? Hey, don’t want to do that…could possibly cut into their bottom line profits. And the nonsense about continuing to compare Cannabis to alcohol…soooo wrong. And alcohol is legal: Cannabis plant is not….what are they going to do to you if you test positive, but are below the offense level…refer you to drug treatment? hahahahaha I’ve been using Cannabis for ~45 years/driving for ~40 years…maybe it’s just me, but I never had any driving problems, and just have no idea what, “the law enforcement community–will come to be sated by the satisfaction that similar to alcohol-impaired drivers, they’ll be able to fairly and accurately detect cannabis-impaired drivers.” really means. BTW…am I supposed to feel positive that “big brother” has a new way to see what’s in my body…more reason to stay home and try not to participate in their control freak system. We sure seem to have accepted these roadside “random” check points without question…for our safety?
Hey, if it lead to the end of prohibition, I’m all for it. Just stating the logical points of view obviously don’t work. If people looked at things rationally instead of emotionally, pot would have been legal years ago. But we don’t, so you have to in turn find ways in which to make people happy with legalization. If this is one of the ways, the go for it. Regulate pot like alcohol and quit wasting valuable time, money, and effort into trying to stop something that obviously won’t stop. If prohibition worked pot wouldn’t be the world’s most popular drug with 100,000,000 people using it the U.S. alone.
peace out
p.s. to the guy above and whoever else thinks so too:
shut up about all this socialism shit. It’s getting really old and annoying. All this fear of socialism is just a result from the cold war, get over it! You might think, oh America is a purely capitalistic society. I’ve got news for you… it isn’t! if it were, there wouldn’t be regulations on drugs, weapons, foods, medicine, or any other products. Obviously, there is, so stop thinking the there is going to be a gargantuan change, cause there’s not. So get smart or shut up, and stop believing everything your told.
I am currently a college student i have been arrested twice in my life for pot. When i was arrested in high school got busted by a snitch my principals asked why i didnt just drink alchol. I replied because it taste like piss i’d rather smoke a bowl real quick than have to force myself to drink. The second time was in college and one of the deputies at the station asked me a question. How can i keep my nephew from doing something stupid like pot. I told him my beleif was that he should want his nephew to smoke because at least its alot safer than alchol. Any person in an athorative positon should not say drink because its legal loses my respect my choic is marijuana i choose it so im mellow and because i dont get a hangover. This Device that they have created puts the Authorities one step closer to being able to legalize pot because it will allow to test for DUI and other violations. Now if only politicians would realize what freedom realy meant. God created all the plants and animals and said they were good. He also created man to watch over these things. If i can grow a plant with water and love i should be able to smoke it.
“The system uses magnetic nanoparticles to detect traces of cocaine, heroin, cannabis, and methamphetamine.”
Way to put those in an order that makes cannabis seem like a highly dangerous drug.
…a plant that god put on this earth.
Prove it.
(The stupid, it burns!)
Take your god and all the wars he’s caused and stick ’em straight up your ass, religitard.
#3 thats kinda what i was asking and u pretty much answered it Thanks
Thanks James! Indeed, interesting stuff for individuals and policymaking. Your question re threshold for impairment is a crucial point of understanding in all of this.
Please find a detailed report URL below from NORML on ‘cannabis and driving impairment’. The report discusses possible threshold levels and the time necessary post-consumption that a responsible cannabis consumer will have to wait before driving (which happens to be about 75 minutes. Which is why government accusing drivers of being impaired absent scientific proof that impairment lasts more than a few hours at worse is so vexing.
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7459%5D
If the ability to test for intoxication while driving is the catalyst for true legalization with laws similar to drunk driving, I am all for it. Even though it is complete bullshit that driving under the influence of Marijuana is anything comparable to drunk driving. But it is important to admit that Marijuana IS in fact a drug, along with alcohol, cough syrup and ibuprofen.
With Obama, our current congress, and (most) of our state govs, you better believe you will see intoxicated driving laws WITHOUT legalization or decriminalization.
VOTE 3RD PARTY!!
This is another tool that will allow the police to increase their commercial cash cow,traffic violations.
Already,DWI and speeding tickets are a multi-million dollar industry,and this will arm them with yet another weapon in the polices new role in society,search and seize.
NORML or some other activist group needs to get involved in some way in the development of a device such as this. Not only will it show responsibility, it will also mean that one of us is on the inside. If we expect Cannabis to be treated similarly to alcohol then we must expect laws regarding driving impaired to be similar. For those laws to be fair a device that ACCURATELY measures cannabis intoxication MUST be developed. NORML needs to put out an article expressing their opinions on this and how they will be a part of its development or simply endorse it. Although the current laws are unjust, expecting to be able to take bong rips driving down the highway only gives the other side ammunition to write us off as irresponsible pot heads.
[Editor’s note: NORML’s been putting out articles, op-eds, white papers and legal briefs about the need for law enforcement (and employers) to employ science-based testing standards since the mid 1980s. As NORML is a non-profit lobbying group, it is not likely going to be getting into hi tech manufacturing or the drug testing business anytime soon.]
At #33 disprove it. You leave a lot to chance if its not my god that created this earth what did a chance coincidence. Id rather put my faith into a god real or fake than believe that the earth suddenly appeared out of nothing.
”
…a plant that god put on this earth.
Prove it.
(The stupid, it burns!)
Take your god and all the wars he’s caused and stick ‘em straight up your ass, religitard.
”
The ignorance, it burns! No god did not start the wars ignorant fools started wars for their own gain in the name of god. Just like the war on drugs is a war fought so that the US government can have control over our lives and invade our god given freedom. Just like radical muslims declare the USA the devil to gain power and start a war. Their god didnt start it ignorant power hungry people did.
So ill say it again God didnt start any wars ignorant people start wars in the name of their god.
On one hand, officers will now be given a new tool to search your vehicle. It could become common practice to use this test, or the next generation of it, on everybody who drives. In other words, it could become part of the car, and perhaps your car won’t start if cannabinoids are detected. It could even send a message to onstar or some other car tracking company to relay to the police. Ain’t corporatism grand?
On the other hand, I do see some potential for good things. Although the test might show active cannabinoids, it can’t determine the level of impairment. If field tests are done on people who have tested positive for recent cannabinoid use, and we’re able to pass the tests, the police will actually be doing our work for us; they will be proving the recent use of marijuana does not necessarily impair somebody to the point of being unable to drive.
Bear with me… if you’re caught speeding, and the officer smells alcohol, they will test you. If you’re under a certain BAC, then you are considered “safe” to continue driving. Surely there would be a similar threshold for cannabinoids.
Will the police now support reform if they can use roadside detectors to detect recent drug use?
AHAHAHAHA. Police… supporting laws that would take away some of their easiest targets…. good one.
The answer will be no.
ok, so it seems to me that if some of those guidelines where driving is concerned are established then, i would gladly accept those conditions in order to enjoy the evenin inhaling session once again. altho as most of us know, their is absolutly no comparison between alcohol and marijuana in terms of being in control of a motor vehicle. but, if they want to call it impairment and that will take at least some of the heat off of legalization then, im game! it is damn sure worth it to me! i say lets roll……
Highly unconstiturional, anyone who agrees with this is a freaken retard. This will not work at all. If any of you are smart, you would know this is just another way to get you into jail.
Since THC stays in your system for a while, you can smoke yesterday then be completely sober the next. Once you get caught, you’ll be arrested not cause you were high but the fact you still have traces of THC in your body.
What about the MJ patients? This would not work at all and i hope to god this doesn’t go through.
NORML, i hope you aren’t for this, if you are, you are a disgrace.
[Russ responds: You’re confusing the urine tests that detect marijuana metabolites, which indeed stay in your system for days or weeks after ingestion, with this saliva test which, if their claims are accurate, would detect whether someone was directly impaired for cannabis. Since NORML’s Principles of Responsible Use directly indicate we do not support driving impaired under the influence of cannabis, if this device measures actual impairment, I don’t see how we wouldn’t support it.]
would there need to be any laws passed for police to use these?
this shit pisses me off!!!
rob (#1) first of all you’r wrong…your a douche bag…america kicks ass even though the people running it may be idiots.
MIGHT AS WELL GIVE TESTS FOR SOBER IDIOTS WHO ACT LIKE A IDIOT NORMALLY.
KISS MY ASS!
so let them come up with an objective way to test for impairment, and come up with a number or whatever for levels of pot in your saliva at which point you are determined to be too impaired to drive, like alcohol’s .08%.
so they get a few test subjects stoned at various levels of different potency of pot, put them behind a wheel in a parking lot with cones and other obstacles, let them drive and determine how much pot it takes to actually be too impaired to drive.
I bet if they were truly objective about this, it would be determined that pot in fact does not impair one for driving. The truth will bear itself out if they let it.
How much more BS can you people take from the government like this. (Man screaming in background) THE WORLD….MAY NEVER KNOW.
Just another way for the government to keep us in check. Fuck that this is getting to much already what about are personal freedoms we have non anymore.
Although it is a little bit scary. I would welcome this if the devise were low cost and available to the general public. So that we would know if we were safe to drive without the possibility of going to jail for a traffic stop or DUI check point. We have to look for the silver lining to the Black Cloud in this situation. If the Police are on board with this, than Complete Marijuana Legalization is closer than we think. God Bless you all.
When drugs are legalized this will have the same function as the breathalyzer. That is assuming it only works when you are actually impaired and doesn’t just tell the cop that you smoked yesterday. That would be a terrible misfortune. People shouldn’t be driving when they are impaired so if this works how it should then it will be good.
I don’t see what people are upset over. As long as you don’t drive recklessly, have your license plates recent, and abide by the law, there’s nothing to worry about. If this device will help us get marijuana legalized, I’m all for it.
29 David
Noone is telling you to shut up. What’s up man?
Do you have a problem with a difference of opion, or do you just see things one way? Does the truth offend you?
Hey phil e drifter. Why dont ou stop bein n intolerant bastard. Listen you cowardly little piss ant NORML isint a site to debate god its to discuss pot. and just so u know retard, god dosent start wars guy like me do.
This does not mean that they support decrim or legalization. Its just another tool to use to make them more money. Hopefully this will wake up all the closet smokers and activate them into screaming bloody murder. You cannot hide in the closet anymore. They will find and identify you. Now is the time to band together and overcome their draconian law system. I say we keep up the good fight for legalization as well as medical use. It is our right!!! We came to America to avoid oppression. Where are we going to go now if we let the prohibitionists win? I live in Texas and as tempting as it is to escape to California or Colorodo, where I would qualify as a medical patient, I must stay and help with the fight here in Texas, keeping my vote ready!!!
this is some major bullshit. its a waste of technology. if you get pulled over the police will find it 9 out of 10 times trust me i got arresteed. i think its funny how bad our economy is and the government and companys are worrying and putting money towards the dumbest fuckin things. we need a revolution. overthrow the government!!!!
It’s a waste of technology if everyone brushes their teeth after using pot. I could give damn about the hard drugs that destroy people’s lives.
The laws regarding cannabis are what make this technology a blessing or a nightmare. If cannabis is illegal like it is now, then if an officer pulls somebody over and smells cannabis, then a whole bunch of things follow and now they can detect if the driver is under the influence too, aside from simple observation. But if cannabis is decriminalized or legalized, then it could be a good thing. But, we have to determine how much qualifies as “under the influence” and to what extent “under the influence” means impaired. Because compared to alcohol, there is little to suggest that there be some level of influence that makes you as impaired as alcohol can. With alcohol, you can be unconscious behind the wheel. This is not possible with cannabis and, rather obviously, cannabis can make you unfit to drive a car. And, by the way, just because cannabis can be successfully passed off as a medicine, doesn’t mean that you can get away with driving under its influence. There are many prescription medications that specifically restrict a user from “operating heavy machinery” and especially automobiles.
If this device is used only to catch drivers that have THC levels sufficient to cause legal impairment I am totally for it. I think however that before this device is implemented they need to have an unbiased study that determines exactly what concentrations cause impairment. I also like this device’s potential because it replaces methods that give false positives, making it so only the irresponsible minority is punished. I just hope (quite unrealistically I’m afraid) that this device is used purely for the good of the people.
There is no more Science Fiction because Human Thinking or Imagination of the SciFi world has become reality. The BIG BROTHER TECHNOLOGY is here and it’s just going to get worse in the near future. There is always an individual out there who does’nt care about humanity or the freedoms of individuals, just GREED. Another SILVER BULLET for the POLICE STATE MENTALITY on Marijuana Prohibition and just another tool for THE MODERN DAY INQUISITORS who want to control our existence as human beings and our actions in society. The Inquisition never left, it just modernized to fit the present time period and the PERSECUTION goes on until sane DRUG LAWS are incorperated to fit the infraction. The WINDS OF CHANGE are here and it’s closer than you think. 420 ALL THE WAY!
Hey Samuel! I totally agree. Allen St. Pierre referred me to an article by Paul Armentano that’s right on point. Check it out:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7459
Regards!
53 General-Jake
That’s what I’m talkin’ about! You have a whole lot of Louie in you…but…I’m glad you’re on our side.
I have never been A big fan of modern Tech.. I had A real bad feeling some device like this one was coming our way.America is A hoax,lets face it people.We have seen our freedom eroded Get me off this planet please!!! How much is A enough ,I’m out of here.Remeber when the USA was A good guy?? I feel sorry for the youth,Look what they have to tolerate As they become older!!
Thanks BEHIND THE GREE DOOR i dont kno wat it means to hav a lot of Louie but ill take it. I didnt want to be harsh on the guy but when people attack others for their faith its wrong. Whether god exsists or not if someone feels beter believin in god leave em alone. All we should talk about here is the various opinions n pot. I ponder gods exsistance but here on earth i put my faith in my pot, my choices and the almity gun. HUMANS start wars, kill, steal, rape, backstab and conspire. But neither Buddha, Shiva, Allah or Jesus start wars Only the animal within us
Fuck Im not into this new tech. For one I been driving for 10 years high and never had a car accident. I dont think marijuana should be compare to alcohol when it come to driving, because with marijuana you are more aware of what you are doing compare to beer that makes people more aggrasive and therfor want to do more harm.
63 General Jake
Re: Louie
Louie was with me in Las Vegas. What you never, ever want to happen is to have your name reach Louie’s ears when he is pissed off. You might as well bend over, grab your ankles, and kiss your ass goodbye.
I, myself, cannot drive stoned. So I stopped driving.
The sad part it, they need something so precise and technical to detect if someone has smoked a bowel. If they cannot tell without said device, like you can tell with alchohol without a device, then whats the problem? Sounds like something more useless to spend tax payer dollars on. Something more to push the “dangerous” hype. And with all the actual dangerous drugs out there, they focus entirely too much on pot: the harmless one. Were the idiots for electing these people into office.
thing is, this may force them to compare how much herb it will take to equal a .08 of an alcohol blow.it may make them see how different marijuana is from drinking.if they see the differences, they may see to set a standard…..altho it is harder for us, it may ease the ridicule of marijuana through this learning process. we know how to treat herb . if they learn that , it may benefit us.this testing will be documented and, i believe benefit will surface on our behalf.
I think this is a realistic idea and possibly even a good one. If we expect marijuana to be made legal than we must be realistic about how it will be made legal. It must be regulated just like alcohol and cigerates. Marijuana is the peaceful drug and we must learn to work with the government in order to get what we want. Driving under the influence of alcohol is wrong and kills many lives. Driving under the influence of marijuana may not be as bad, but we all need to advocate using marijuana responsibly.
Don’t worry someone will soon develop and manufacture
a detoxifying mouthwash or gum that will make things undetectable. More than likely the very same people who manufactured this device of Big Brother control grid technology. The escalation of this technology will soon in time evolve in linking the results to satellites transfer of results to DNA databases.
Just like when radar guns turned to laser guns and radar detectors turned to laser detectors and now speed camera detectors. See a pattern? What a ruse!
Beware when the righteous prepare for the practice of evil.—
Kenneth Patchen
Orwellian nightmares awaken and manifest under the disguise and construct of divine governmental intereventions.-
Ray DiPasquale
After I was jailed for having leaves I was court ordered to attend AA meetings. I asked several drunk drivers in those meetings how would they feel if they were jailed and forced to attend meetings for something unrelated to their addiction. Several members agreed they wished alcohol was illegal to manufacture and possess as they would of been saved decades ago because most of them had been caught drunk driving dozens of times. But back in the 50s and 60s the cops usually let them drive home. Even today the punishment is small for drunk drivers compared to people with leaves.
Bottom line……Most anti-marijuana advocates enjoy alcohol. Take away my freedom to smoke a joint. 72 years strong. Which is ironically a little less than the time alcohol has been legal. Obama promised a “level playing field” . Lets make the first crop planted in this field marijuana. I would love to see the drunk baby raper next door put in prison for having beer. But I would rather enjoy a nice fatty in my backyard picked from a plant that God put here.
To me it’s the same as a body cavity search. Only this time you’re getting the proverbial “bend over and take it like a man, slave bitch”. I am grateful that I made a decision at a very young age to steer clear of credit cards and employers who drug test.
I have had limited vision all my life but I have always seen such violations to our privacy and civil rights. It’s sad that we are letting little machines enslave us slowly but surely.
Say no to technocracy.
There are studies that have shown that marijuana does not impair your driving> I am a living testament to that. Why is this not mentioned?
The day I got my medical MJ card I stopped driving and cut up my drivers licence. I had a choice and it was an esay one for me. This road side teat just will not work. I can stop smoking for a week and I would still be 5 times the legal limit for PPM of THC.
I think our best argument is wether or not THC in you system is a public safty issue, just how many car crashes are caused by MJ. My guess is that way more crashes are caused by people eating or putting on makup then by MJ.
Only one thing will ever fix this problome, All of us must go out and contact the new people running for office in 2010, we need to tell them now that our vote is dependent on one issue, WILL THRY SOPPORT TAXING AND REG. OF MJ if not then there is no way we can vote for them. If enough people contact them, they will make it pary of there campaine.
I am the 442nd MM card holder in New Mexico. It is not wrong for me to use but it is for you. I will keep fighting until everyone over 21 has a legal right to smoke if they want to.
Ray’s comment was especially enlightened, because our current society is beyond addicted to greed; conflict-of-interest is a way of life, a strategy for many.
The most cancerous drugs on our society today: greed, power-over-others, sugar-the prohibitionist’s “white powder drug,” and processed foods.
Like others have pointed out, how much one smoked/ingested is important, but based on decades of my own observations, how many years a person has been using cannabis is a KEY factor.
When I’m out and about I see people who I believe haven’t been smoking, but they drive like they never took driving lessons, don’t know any of the rules of the road, and everyone-else-be-damned. But I’ve been a passenger in vehicles with mj smokers driving, as they smoked, and they were not novice smokers, probably the most distracting thing was their rage at our govt. at all the evil it perpetrates in the name of righteousness.
As far as I’m concerned if people are driving badly, pull them over, feel free to test them, it could be they’ve run out of insulin or are 80+ years old and are foggy. But this is evil if they’re going to create “check points” and run everyone through them, “guilty until proven innocent,” they spit in the faces of those they pay so much lip service to.
As far as the pharma drugs (amphetamines and crystal meth), the best I know those drugs have been given routinely to people by our own govt/military to people they wanted to stay alert, especially when operating machinery. The biggest problem for us other drivers, from drivers on speed, is they may think the rest of us are in slow motion, so they drive too fast. Then let them be punished for driving too fast.
I don’t know enough about cocaine, but from what I know it’s a stimulant too and totally unlike alcohol, a depressant. And the best I can tell about heroin is that people who use heroin don’t say “let’s go for a drive” ala Mungo Jerry, but that heroin users prefer to find some place they can not be disturbed so they can relax, aka “nod.”
I’ve been thinking for quite some time that NORML and MPP should sponsor a reality TV show, or bunch of tests. Go to the Salt Flats, a movie lot, or some huge private property and conduct tests and record it all. Compare drivers (all shapes and sizes) who have consumed various quantities of alcohol and mj, and their driving skills after consumption.
just had a stoner thought. be funny if u got pulled over and u had the dry’s (cotton mouth what ever u call it) then there would be no spit. sorry am giggling to myself imagining it.
I have no problem with getting INTOXICATED drivers off the road. I saw my brother run down by an intoxicated driver. He was drunk, but no matter, he could have just as easily been stoned, and not paying attention the way he would have had he not been stoned. Driving while impaired on ANYTHING is WRONG. Stoners need a designated driver the same as drunks. If you fail to meet that responsability, you should be taught the error of your ways. I have been a responsible user of cannabis exclusively for 41yrs, and there is very little that anyone could tell me about cannabis that I don’t already know. I know that a stoned driver is safer than a drunk, but not as safe a a sober driver. I would rather be on the road with a 100 stoners, than to be on the road with 1 drunk, but truth be known I would prefer they were ALL sober.
Thanks phillips for this shit, and congratulations on losing a potential customer for any of your products, forever.
Not to be mean or anything,
but what-if…
– Passing a cannabis “sobriety-test”
were contingent upon correctly spelling
all words in a typewritten-entry or post;
(and one would even be allowed to “cheat” on the
spelling-test, by using a dictionary / word list).
– Under these conditions,
how many of us would pass…???
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Cannabinoids PROMOTE NEUROGENESIS!!!
(and VICE-VERSA!!!)
v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^
Word to Michael Phelps:
Pot-APOLOGETICS,
not…
pot-apologies!!!
😈 😈 😈
#78 Chris Orr Says:
August 16th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Thanks phillips for this shit, and congratulations on losing a potential customer for any of your products, forever.
RE: Chris,
– You’ve got this SO WRONG!!!
Don’t you understand the “plus-side”
of THIS technology???
…It’s even mentioned in the article,
(IF you read it COMPLETELY!!!).
– UNLIKE hair-tests, pee-tests,
(which don’t indicate present-use,
only ANCIENT, INACTIVE METABOLITES
from weeks prior…),
this handy little device indicates
more-immediate RECENT-USE,
(functions like a “breathalizer” does,
EXCEPT it’s for pot…).
– One LESS EXCUSE for keeping pot illegal,
(DUID-impairment can be more-accurately determined),
– A nail-in-the-coffin for “zero-tolerance”,
“per-se” DUID-laws”
– The Philips device measures ACTUAL THC,
more easily correlated with present-impairment,
(whereas urine-tests have ZERO-VALIDITY
in light of this…),
and can be LEGALLY CHALLENGED,
(since pee-tests unfairly label a person
as “impaired”, when they’re actually not).
I don’t think this is a bad thing. As you pointed out, it kind of destroys an argument being resorted to against legalization by many, and also, let’s not kid ourselves— we realistically want CONTROLLED legalization. Part of this control is not being allowed to drive while intoxicated. Right?
I’m a forty somthing truck driver been driving for about 28 years never had a ticket or accident about eight yeers ago got called for a random test while i was laid off (dec 18th) tested jan 3rd failed three days later had to see SAP (substanc abuse proffesional) was told had to pay $589 and three days of counsuling then test before returnig to work in the spring (end of april).walked in paid my money then i was tested on the spot.of course failed agin.the SAP then told me i had the wrong drug of choice as a driver i should be doing coke its out of my system in about three days where as pot has a half life of 14 days now the cost of couseling was $6,800 & eight weeks of eight hour a day counseling &60 months of twice monthly testing at my expence $75 each. I said no &the SAP told me i would loose my benefits and never be able to drive agin if i didnt compley.(threats of none complience)the following spring i went to work for another company have been there until august of this year (not drug related) passing the pre-hire & randoms at will now while searching for another job if this information is found (10 years of employment history )i will not only have to compley (probably at a higer cost now)I will have to submit to a strip search and a direct observed test(someone watching the urin come from my penis into the cup). i don’t think even a fellon has to submit to that much intrusion of privacy during their test, if this new test can stop that &let me smoke my bud on my own time without testing positive eight hours later i say bring it out now!!!!
I think driving impaired no matter what you’re on or what you’re doing is just an illogical full with unhealthy risks (mainly death). However if this new test could be implemented in the right ways such as testing for current impairment for roads and employers; it could be a great leap forward for ending this silly prohibition. We all know what’s actually going to happen though, it’s clearly happened in the small town of Kodiak Alaska and many other places. That is, the greater the ability to catch a felon, the greater the force gets paid, thus the more they work towards pulling in the highest net profit catches. I’m not saying that they won’t be doing they’re jobs, just saying they’ll be focusing more on the wrong areas for profiteering reasons.
Last night a close friend went on an errand in a bad part of Phoenix and was stopped for a burned out headlight on her car. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder some years ago and now takes several different medications to keep the disorder in check as well as a thyroid medication. The medicines have caused a slight tremor in her hands which is aggravated when she has too much coffee or when she is nervous. Well, to make a long story short, she was cuffed, her car was searched and she was forced to give blood to be tested for drugs in order not to lose her license for a year. Her car is being impounded for 30 days while the drug test is completed. The cop accused her of being stoned on marijuana. This is someone that I have known very well and watched attend AA regularly for over twenty years. I know that she is vehemently opposed to marijuana because I have tried unsuccessfully to convince her of the utility of medical marijuana on over a dozen different occasions. This is someone that is not capable of smoking cannabis at this point in her life. Apparently if you have even the slightest of motor impairments or have ever had a senior moment think twice about driving in Phoenix. The Phoenix police appear to be using criteria to determine whether a person is stoned that have nothing to do with being stoned and that are likely to misidentify many people. While it is true that she will most likely be vindicated she has become another victim of the War on Drugs. Even an accusation is devastating to a mother trying to raise two girls on $1,100 per month from a railroad pension.
I wonder how this would affect states like NJ that have “Being Under the Influence” laws, where it’s a crime just HAVE DRUGS IN YOUR SYSTEM, not only to be in possession or DUI? I see HUGE potential for abuse there.