New marijuana portable breath test in works
Darren Whitehead
KUSA-TV, Denver
DENVER — Researchers from Washington State University are working to develop a breath test for marijuana that would be similar to current alcohol breath tests used by police.
In the two states where pot is legal — Washington state and Colorado — police officers rely on blood tests to figure out whether someone has been smoking or consuming pot.
This device would make that process easier and faster.
A Tacoma News Tribune report said a group from Washington state is developing a portable tool like a breathalyzer that officers would be able to use on the spot to test for THC — the active ingredient in marijuana.
In Washington state and Colorado, drivers can be charged with DUI if they have five nanograms or more of THC in their blood.
WSU chemistry professor Herbert Hill said existing technologies used by airport security and customs agents to detect drugs can be repurposed to test breath for THC.
Hill said the marijuana breath test probably won't be able to pinpoint the level of THC in the body, but it will tell law enforcement that some active THC is present.
In the Tacoma newspaper report, Hill said the breath test could be helpful to officers as they decide whether to arrest a suspected impaired driver.
"We believe, at least initially, that it would lower the false positives that an officer would have," Hill said. "They would have a higher level of confidence in making an arrest."
Follow-up test results will still be needed to use as evidence in court — which is the same as they do in drunken driving cases.
Hill and his team plan to finish lab tests of a prototype marijuana breath test this year, then begin testing on human breath next year.
When that is complete, researchers plan to test the device in the field.