Answer Addiction

Tag: Drugged Driving

  • World's First Marijuana Breathalyzer To Hit Market In 2020

    World's First Marijuana Breathalyzer To Hit Market In 2020

    The device can distinguish between recent use of marijuana and residual THC, which lingers in the body for about 30 days after use.

    The world’s first marijuana breathalyzer—said to be able to detect recent use rather than the mere presence of residual THC in the system—will hit the market in 2020.

    Northern California-based Hound Labs, which received a funding boost to expedite the device’s release, says their device can distinguish between recent use of marijuana (which implies intoxication) and residual THC, which lingers in the body for about 30 days after use.

    A Very Important Distinction

    The Hound device’s ability to make this distinction is the key. The lack of a device able to weed out high motorists was a major issue for some law enforcement officials across the country and a key reason cited for opposing marijuana legalization.

    “DUI under marijuana is a huge, huge problem. It’s one of the reasons we’ve been against legalization,” said John Adams, district attorney of Berks County in Pennsylvania. “I’ve heard about the breathalyzers. If the technology is out there, it would be a great tool. It would alleviate some of our fears.”

    The Hound device is portable and can detect both alcohol and marijuana. The device is comprised of a base station and a hand-held device that, together, retails for about $5,000, according to the Providence Journal.

    Mike Lynn, a veteran emergency department physician and reserve deputy sheriff from Oakland, California, collaborated with scientists at the University of California at Berkeley and San Francisco to create the device.

    “We wanted to be able to detect THC in people who have recently used it—either eaten the stuff or smoked a joint,” said Lynn. “Those are the people we want to discourage before they go to the workplace or get behind the wheel.”

    Currently, medical marijuana is legal in 33 states and Washington, D.C. Recreational marijuana is legal in 11 states and D.C.

    “If Someone Is Not Stoned, They Shouldn’t Be Arrested.”

    Lynn emphasized the importance of distinguishing between people who are driving while high and people who are driving sober but may still use marijuana off the road.

    “It’s about creating a balance of public safety and fairness. I’ve seen the tragedies resulting from impaired driving up close,” said Lynn. “And I have a good idea how challenging it is at the roadside to know whether someone smoked pot recently. But I believe if someone is not stoned, they shouldn’t be arrested.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Colorado Still Struggling With Marijuana Field Sobriety Tests

    Colorado Still Struggling With Marijuana Field Sobriety Tests

    Traffic fatalities involving drivers with marijuana in their system have risen as proper impairment testing continues to be an issue in the state.

    As Colorado marks the fifth anniversary of legalizing recreational marijuana, the problem of impaired driving—and how to properly test for impairment—remains as elusive as it was in 2014.

    As an article in the Routt County daily newspaper Steamboat Pilot & Today noted, according to state law an individual is under the influence if more than five nanograms of THC is present in their bloodstream. But how to properly and legally test drivers remains out of the reach of police in the Centennial State, and users have expressed concern that if a method is discovered, they could test over the limit even if they are not legally impaired.

    As a 2016-2017 report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found, twice as many Coloradans smoke marijuana than residents of other states, and the number of adults in that demographic has risen since 2014.

    Traffic fatalities involving drivers with marijuana in their system have also risen from 75 in 2014 to 139 in 2017. Statistics like these fuel the call for impairment testing, but the facts behind the latter data also underscore the challenges inherent to such a test.

    The problem arises from the fact that the number of Colorado drivers involved in a traffic fatality who tested above the legal limit for THC has actually dropped, from 52 in 2016 to 35 the following year.

    As Reason noted, this may be due to the fact that THC remains detectable in a user’s system for up to 30 days, and drivers who test positive at the time of a crash may not, in fact, be legally impaired.

    THC Lingers

    As the Pilot & Today article stated, police are aware of this conflict. While field sobriety tests for alcohol impairment can be accurate at a rate between 91 and 94%, detecting marijuana impairment depends largely on blood tests.

    “There is no go-to tool that is considered reliable across the board to determine if someone is impaired by marijuana,” said former assistant district attorney of Routt County Matt Karzen in the article, who noted that most cases stem from a plea deal in which drivers plead guilty to driving while impaired, a traffic infraction which usually results in a fine and revoked driving privileges for 90 days—far less than a DUI conviction.

    Marijuana advocates and law enforcement alike see this information as proof positive for more accurate means of measuring marijuana impairment, but efforts by lawmakers in Colorado have come up short; a bill proposed in 2019 would have empowered officers with the full right to determine impairment through a combination of field sobriety tests—observation and coordination tests—and blood testing. The bill was met with opposition and currently remains postponed until a February 2020 review.

    5-Nanogram Limit

    Legal representatives like Karzen and police officers have been encouraged to pursue impairment cases in which the individual is both clearly impaired—as the Pilot & Today noted, those exhibiting memory loss, poor driving or if marijuana smoke is evident. These signs, along with a blood test above the legal limit, are the best possible indicators at the moment for driving impairment.

    “I’m very uncomfortable proceeding with a criminal prosecution on impaired driving based only on the five-nanogram limit,” said Karzen.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • San Diego Considers Cannabis Cafes

    San Diego Considers Cannabis Cafes

    Opponents of the idea cite drugged driving as a reason not to open the cafes.

    Officials in San Diego are gathering information and debating whether the city should allow establishments where patrons could purchase and consume legal marijuana products. 

    “When we have a cool place like this where people can gather and participate in the legal market, that’s ultimately going to take people away from the illicit market and bring revenue back to the city,” Dallin Young, board member for the Association for Cannabis Professionals, told The San Diego Economic Development Committee last week, according to NBC News San Diego. 

    City Councilmembers asked the city’s independent budget analyst to research the benefits and drawbacks of cannabis cafes. However, some councilmembers are concerned that the cafes would draw more resources than they would bring in.

    Scott Chipman, a representative of San Diegans for Safe Neighborhoods, said that the cafes would open the door for many problems. “There’s a big concern with drug-impaired driving,” he told the committee. “The economic benefit would be far outweighed by the cost.” 

    Chipman says that the data shows this to be true. According to federal data, states that have legalized cannabis have seen a 6% increase in traffic accidents, for example.

    “They’re spending way more on pot enforcement, impaired driving, medical bills and other things than the economic revenue and taxes coming in,” Chipman said. 

    Despite that, some California towns and cities are approving cannabis cafes. Although the California legalization legislation prohibits public use, the cafes would be an exception. 

    West Hollywood issued approval for cannabis cafes that will begin operation this year, according to Eater. 

    “We’re totally stoked the city is excited about our concept, and can’t wait to bring it to life. West Hollywood’s nightlife has it all, save for one thing: the world’s best cannabis restaurant and lounge,” said Kirk Cartozian, who is a founder of The Antidote, which will be an edibles-only lounge. “Did we say we’re totally ecstatic about this?”

    According to Leafly, there were only nine cannabis cafes operating in the nation in 2018. Many of those are in San Francisco, a city that has been an early adopter of the idea, according to Charles Pappas, a medical cannabis commissioner. 

    “San Francisco has the best regulations of anywhere,” he said. 

    Pappas said that concerns over drugged driving are misplaced in a society that has already accepted that adults can consume some mind-altering substances, namely alcohol, in public. 

    “If bars are safe why can’t lounges be safe? A lounge owner can say, ‘OK you’ve smoked enough, that’s it.’ Just like a bar,” he said. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Marijuana-Involved Traffic Death Report Shows Mixed Results For Colorado

    Marijuana-Involved Traffic Death Report Shows Mixed Results For Colorado

    The number of fatal crashes in which the driver tested positive for cannabinoids rose from 75 in 2014 to 139 in 2017.

    A new report on traffic deaths involving marijuana in Colorado has presented what seems like contradictory information: the number of fatal vehicular accidents involving Centennial State drivers who tested positive for marijuana rose in 2017, but the number of such fatalities in which the driver could be considered legally impaired by marijuana experienced an even greater decline.

    The dichotomy between the results underscored, as Reason noted as one of the primary challenges of ascribing marijuana use with traffic fatalities: that THC, the psychoactive compound found in cannabis, can be detectable in the system for up to 30 days, depending on a number of factors, so drivers who test positive at the time of a crash may not be legally impaired.

    The CDOT study essentially summed up the conundrum by noting, “The presence of a cannabinoid does not necessarily indicate recent use of marijuana or impairment.”

    According to the CDOT report, the number of fatal crashes in which the driver tested positive for cannabinoids rose from 75 in 2014—when legal recreational sales began in Colorado—to 139 in 2017.

    However, the number of fatalities in which the active THC level in the driver’s blood concentration could be considered legally impaired—which by state law is five nanograms per milliliter or more—dropped sharply during the same time frame, from 19 “cannabis-involved fatalities” in 2014 and 2015, which rose to 52 in 2016 before dropping again to 35 in 2017.

    CDOT spokesperson Sam Cole said that the department regards the number of traffic deaths in which the driver was legally impaired to be the most accurate means of measuring how the drug is impacting road safety in Colorado. As the Colorado Springs Gazette noted, that would indicate that marijuana-related deaths as a whole were on the decline.

    And while Cole reiterated the study’s assertion that the presence of THC does not necessarily indicate impairment, he told the Denver Westword, “Marijuana and driving is still a huge problem in Colorado. About 10% of our fatalities involve a driver who was at or above the legal limit for active THC, and we need to get that number way down. Any fatality above zero is one fatality too many.”

    Henny Lasley, co-founder of Smart Colorado, a non-profit that formed after the passage of Colorado’s recreational marijuana law, essentially echoed statements by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, which noted, “The science of impairment is lacking.”

    What concerned Lasley in the report was an increase in the number of traffic fatalities involving drivers with more than one substance in their systems; drivers that tested positive for cannabis, alcohol and any other drug tripled from eight in 2016 to 25 in 2017.

    “The combination is very concerning,” she said.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Lyft Offers Incentives To Stop Drugged Driving In Massachusetts

    Lyft Offers Incentives To Stop Drugged Driving In Massachusetts

    Lyft has pledged $50,000 in fares to keep stoned drivers off the roads of Massachusetts.

    Popular ride-sharing service Lyft is encouraging people to drive cannabis-free with a special fare credit offer, according to High Times.

    Law enforcement in Massachusetts believe there could be a greater potential for drug-related accidents since cannabis has become legal in the state, so the state has teamed with Lyft to help educate the public on the dangers of driving high.

    Jennifer Queally, undersecretary of the Office of Public Safety and Security in Massachusetts, became concerned when she noticed an increase in people driving stoned in Colorado.

    “It’s not uncommon to hear people say, ‘I drive better when I’m high,’” Queally explains. “[But] if you are high or stoned, you are not a safe driver. And you are a danger to everyone on the road.”

    At the same time, ride-sharing companies like Lyft see a potential business boom. Just as Lyft and Uber are giving potential drunk drivers everywhere a safe ride home, the general manager of Lyft in New England told High Times, “We want to make sure residents can consume marijuana and not think twice about how they’re going to get home responsibly.”

    To help promote cannabis-free driving, Lyft has partnered with the Massachusetts Chief of Police Association, as well as the Cannabis Reform Coalition, to pledge $50,000 in Lyft fares to keep high drivers off the road. And if you make a pledge on social media not to drive high, you can get $4.20 in Lyft ride fare credit.

    As WBUR reports, there is also a new public service campaign that has been launched in Massachusetts called “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”

    In the commercial, several actors tell the audience, “There are roads. Ones you take and one’s you don’t. There are laws. There are rules. And there’s you. You driving. You drunk driving. You driving high. You stoned and driving. You spinning. You crashing. You arrested. You killing… There are roads. And then there are just dead ends.”

    The commercial ends with a title card telling the audience, “Drunk? Stoned? Driving? Don’t.”

    According to a study released this year by the Governors Highway Safety Association, the rates of people driving high has increased 16% in the last 10 years. In 44% of fatal car crashes in 2016, 38% of the drivers tested positive for marijuana, with 16% of the drivers testing positive for opioids, and 4% testing positive for both.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • World's First Marijuana "Breathalyzer" Is On The Way But Will It Work?

    World's First Marijuana "Breathalyzer" Is On The Way But Will It Work?

    The breath analysis test can reportedly detect THC and alcohol.

    A breathalyzer that can determine whether a driver has smoked marijuana might be rolling out in cities as soon as this fall, according to Newsweek.

    The Oakland, California-based company, Hound Labs, says it has developed the world’s first marijuana breath analysis test, which could be leveraged by police departments in all the same ways alcohol breathalyzers are.

    With more and more states legalizing weed, law enforcement officials have become worried about individuals driving when they’re high, Newsweek noted.

    Unfortunately, police officers don’t have an accurate roadside test to tell if a driver has consumed weed. That’s why the marijuana breathalyzer could be a game-changer, says Hound Labs CEO Mike Lynn.

    “We are trying to make the establishment of impairment around marijuana rational and to balance fairness and safety,” he noted, explaining that the device will detect THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. 

    Unlike alcohol, however, timing is crucial when it comes to measuring marijuana impairment. With alcohol, a driver is considered impaired with a blood-alcohol level of 0.8; with marijuana, it’s not so clear-cut. Many experts agree that there is a two-hour window during which the full effects of THC will show up.

    “When you find THC in breath, you can be pretty darn sure that somebody smoked pot in the last couple of hours,” Lynn said. “And we don’t want to have people driving during that time period or, frankly, at a work site in a construction zone.” (In addition to THC, the device can detect alcohol, too.)

    For many law enforcement officials, the device couldn’t come at a better time. Right now, THC can only be detected through blood tests—and even then, it remains in the system much longer than other substances.

    “Unlike alcohol, THC can remain detectable in the blood stream for days or weeks, when any impairment wears off in a matter of hours,” said Taylor West, former director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. “So [what] all those numbers really tell us is that, since legal adult-use sales began, a larger number of people are consuming cannabis and then, at some point… [are] driving a car.” The new device would help police zero in on the drivers who are truly putting themselves and others at risk.

    Some critics remain skeptical that devices like the breathalyzer or Canada’s saliva-testing device will work at all. For one, new research has revealed that THC levels “don’t line up in a straightforward way with how impaired people are,” Live Science reported.

    Toxicologist Marilyn Huestis argues that the largest problem isn’t determining how far over the line someone has gone with marijuana so much as where that line even exists.

    “I used to be someone who thought [that] if we could just get a good limit, that would work,” she said. “But [with] all the work on chronic, frequent users, we realized there’s no one number that’s going to distinguish impairment.” 

    View the original article at thefix.com