Pot Breathalyzer Is Still a Police Pipe Dream

[limpyhobbler]

—By Josh Harkinson| Mon May. 6, 2013

As 4:20 threatens to become as popular as happy hour, police are scrambling to figure out a reliable way to make sure that the dude who's zoning out in the Taco Bell drive-thru isn't too stoned to drive. The problem is, roadside breathalyzer tests administered to drunks don't work for pot smokers, forcing cops to take suspected stoners into the station for a blood test. Now the Swedish company SensAbues is offering something of a fix. A study published in the Journal of Breath Research last week found that its proprietary breath-testing device can detect recent use of a wide range of drugs, including prescription meds, cocaine, and marijuana.

"The device is based on a filter, you can actually just blow through it," developer Olof Beck told a Swedish interviewer. "It's very, very easy to collect the sample."

But here's why Beck probably isn't going to be landing contracts with the Colorado or Washington state troopers anytime soon. First off, his device only detects the presence of marijuana, not whether a driver has consumed enough to be impaired. And even more problematic from a cop's point of view: The filter samples have to be analyzed in a lab—which means no instant field results.
...

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/05/marijuana-breathalyzer-test-pot-police-pipe-dream

[Warpy]

1. They need to judge people by field sobriety tests

If a driver is impaired through booze, drugs, or fatigue, it will show up during a field sobriety test.

Having a number to show a judge is overrated. A dashcam video should do just as well.

They need to stop punishing substances and start punishing reckless behavior, no matter what they blame it on.

[Warren Stupidity]

2. Until there is a clear demonstrable public health issue with pot and cars, as there is

With alcohol, the need for a pot breathalyzer is nonexistent.

[pgallahue]

3. Necessary though

We really do need to ensure that a recreational market can be carried out safely. That would require a dependable system of making sure that people are not impaired behind the wheel.