If you haven’t heard there is a small group of start-ups racing to create the first marijuana Breathalyzer.
At first, the idea might seem terrible. Once its made I’m sure it will be deployed for use by the police, employers, etc,.
Yeh, no good, but hear me out. Stoners have been targeted for years by such authorities.
Even if you haven’t smoked pot in over a week and get drug tested, you can still lose your job. Thats because the metabolites from marijuana consumption can stay in your system for a very long time.
That’s not fair at all, right?
Now your starting to get the point.
How it Currently Works
I have been going trying to keep up with all the latest developments here. Just like every one else that smokes weed from time to time.
With marijuana reform laws sweeping the state, most of us probably knew it was coming. But, I was unsure of how it would work.
Currently, you if you are pulled over and under the suspicion of driving under the influence of marijuana. The arresting officer would have to take you into custody.
At that point they would forcefully, like it or not, take your blood for drug testing. At that point, you would remain in custody until you see the judge and the results come back.
Standard blood drug testing kind of works the same as a urine screening. The blood sample is check for the metabolites THC and THC-COOH.
Both of which can remain in your system for a very long time. If you haven’t used pot for weeks, you can still fail this type of test.
That would lead to huge penalties and charges. Depending on the circumstances of the arrest, even jail time.
The “New” Way of Testing If You High
Cannabix Technologies is one of the leaders in this race. They have exclusive license over US Patent 8,237,118. This is a patent for what is called a “partial ovoidal FAIMS “.
It is a very sensitive device that can detect every thing from narcotics to chemical warfare agents in the air. As air/gas is passed through the device it checks the ions for certain markers.
Using this technology, these start ups are trying to find a specific marker for cannabis. At this moment, this may or may not be possible, but there is a lot of testing taking place.
I’m sure they will ultimately reach their goal. It’s just a matter of time and lots of research money.
Why its a Good Thing
Hear me out on this one. I’m just going to put this out there, I know most stones are very responsible and would never drive high anyway.
If you do, maybe there should be a penalty involved. Smoking weed does impair your judgment and delay reaction times. No on can honestly deny those facts.
But if you smoked weed last week, should you be penalized by the law or even lose your job?
That is what currently happens every day. People are charged and found guilty for driving impaired, even thought they were not actually driving “high”.
Currently, if you get into an accident at your job or have to get tested for a potential job. They will test your urine, blood or hair. These drug screenings can go as far back as 90 days.
Even if you haven’t touched marijuana for over a month, you will still have markers for it. Causing you to lose your job, not get the job or even go to jail.
This new marijuana Breathalyzer can only tell if you are high at the time of testing!