Marijuana Saliva Test

Currently, the only accurate drug test available to test current impairment from marijuana use is a blood test.

This method becomes difficult for police officers and state patrol in determining whether a driver is currently impaired as it requires sending the driver to a lab for a blood test in order to make the accurate assumption that impaired driving was a factor in an accident or traffic violation as opposed to having a device that could test the driver right on the spot.

Technology is changing, however; and there are various marijuana testing devices coming out that hold promise for testing current impairment.

Teams from Washington State University and Lifeloc Technologies, among many other groups around the world, have been researching and creating these new devices in order to help law enforcement and, one day, employers in making accurate and contemporaneous decisions regarding marijuana impairment. 

The Colorado State Patrol has begun using one of the new technologies, a saliva test, in a pilot program to see if the test is an accurate indicator of current impairment.

Drivers pulled over and suspected of marijuana use must consent to the test, as it stands, because it is still in the testing phase. The pilot program will last for a total of 3 years as the accuracy of the test is being confirmed.

For more information on the pilot program, please visit:t

http://kdvr.com/2016/01/26/colorado-state-troopers-testing-marijuana-dui-devices/