University Of Akron Students Invent Device To Detect Marijuana In Drivers

[Jacob Redmond]

Two University of Akron students won a $10,000 inventors' award for developing a sensor that they say will allow police to determine in minutes if a driver is under the influence of marijuana.

Mariam Crow and Kathleen Stitzlein, graduate students in biomedical engineering, hope to eventually market their roadside testing device, the Cannibuster, to police in states where marijuana has been legalized, according to the university.

With the legalization of marijuana, states have set 5 nanograms or less of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, as the legal limit for drivers. But the technology to accurately measure levels of the chemical on the roadside does not exist, the students said.

"Today if a driver is suspected of impaired driving due to marijuana, law enforcement officers must call an Emergency Medical Squad to the scene or take the driver to a local hospital for blood work," Stitzlein stated in a news release. "Lab results can take up to six weeks to come back, which is clearly not ideal."

Stitzlein said the Cannibuster uses saliva testing and lab-on-chip technology to determine the concentration of the chemical in the bloodstream, providing police with a quick, accurate result.

The Cannibuster has already received Ohio Third Frontier funding for further prototyping.

The students will use the money from the LaunchTown Entrepreneurship award and the promise of $20,000 worth of mentoring and advisory services from local entrepreneurs to partner with law enforcement departments in states where marijuana has been legalized to test final design requirements, the university said.

Five college teams competed in the LaunchTown competition on Thursday.

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Full Article: University of Akron students invent device to detect marijuana in drivers | cleveland.com
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Photo Credit: University of Akron
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[hekzone]

Dohh!

 

[UncleCannabis]

That blows!!
If I were the person who invented a pot detector you could bet the farm that I wouldn't be using it to determine who may or may not be driving with a buzz on. I'd be talking long walks in the forrest with it during late autumn.

 

[Radogast]

Saliva test.

That seems a more reliable indicator of recent consumption than thc in the bloodstream. Maybe yes, maybe no.

Of course the question still remains,
"Does 5 nanograms of thc have a negative or a positive effect on driving? "

 

[gearhead6621]

I wonder, wouldn't drinking a cold beer while smoking a joint before driving solve this problem?
I'll bet a big ole chaw of Red Man while driving would take care of this too.
Saliva test. What a joke. Anything you put in your mouth after smoking is gona kill this test.
Munchies anyone?

 

[mlang52]

The sensitivity and specificity have to be established before anyone starts using these devices. They can miss, as well as, over-call the presence of cannabis. There are disadvantages to the law enforcement people have if they would use these "machines" to determine if the user is illegal. I just see more people being thrown in jail over false positives! It will be years before any testing, of real quality, occurs!