Colleen27
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2007
Traffic safety and enforcement has been one of the major issues cited by Law Enforcement Agencies nation-wide as a reason they are/have been against recreational legalization. I’m unclear as to whether there is any actual empirical test that can be administered to drivers for drug impairment other than blood or urine tests that can’t be administered in the field when a driver is pulled over.
To my knowledge LEOs are depending on old-school field sobriety tests of physical/mental acuity to apprehend drug-impaired drivers. There’s also a huge public awareness campaign on - ads and billboards that are just everywhere now. Hopefully they will have some impact on those (like a pp upthread) that actually seem to believe they drive better while high. It’s not a new problem though - criminally reckless idiots that do it didn’t just start last week.
In Michigan, the state and county police are testing a cheek swab test that is supposed to be an effective way of identifying impaired drivers (when paired with a field sobriety assessment that provides "cause" for testing). It is being promoted as a big step forward in dealing with impaired driving because unlike blood and urine tests, it doesn't detect use from last week or last month. It isn't quite as narrow as a breathalizer, but it is far more targeted than previous testing methods, and from what I understand from our county sheriff, the early results seem promising.