A University of British Columbia (UBC) professor has developed a device that can help police detect stoned drivers, the university announced on 4/20 Day, or April 20, which is a day when many people around the world protest for eased marijuana laws.
The news comes on the day that Canada’s Health Minister Jane Philpott announced that her government will introduce legislation in spring 2017 to legalize marijuana in Canada.
The UBC Okanagan engineering professor, Mina Hoorfar, describes her device a microfluidic breath analyzer, which can detect the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in a person’s breath. THC is the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.
“It’s very easy to test for THC as it is a big molecule that stays in your breath for a long time,” said Hoorfar, who was recently named UBC Okanagan’s researcher of the year.
“There is a period of 12 hours after you have consumed THC when it can still be detected in your breath.”
Hoorfar is not alone. B.C.’s Cannabix Technologies Inc. has also been working on developing a handheld device to help police detect THC in breath.
Police often give people suspected of driving under the influence of marijuana 24-hour driving suspensions based on their own assessments of the person’s ability to drive.
Driving while impaired by drugs has been illegal under the Canadian Criminal Code for nearly a century, but is rather problematic to enforce.
That is largely because police do not have reliable devices to determine marijuana intoxication.
In addition to being in breath, THC also stays in the blood and in saliva. However, roadside testing involving blood analysis or spit tests is not an easy process, and results are not immediate.
With Hoorfar’s device, a law enforcement officer can determine within seconds whether a person is impaired, according to UBC.
The small device costs about $15 to manufacture and is Bluetooth-enabled so data can be collected using a smartphone.
Hoorfar said that the device could also be used by individuals to test themselves to ensure that they are safe to drive.
Studies done in B.C. have indicated that 12% to 14% of the drivers involved in fatal motor vehicle accidents had cannabis in their systems.
