Police may be able to test whether or not a person has consumed marijuana or THC products in sobriety tests on the road – but that may still be a dream for the future.
A study released by the University of California at San Diego and published in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Psychiatry on Wednesday had evaluated just how effective field sobriety tests might be for THC-induced driving impairment, but may not have gotten there just yet.
With cannabis being legalized left and right across the United States (and some other nations too), authorities find themselves dealing with a new type of intoxication behind the wheel. Road safety continues to be an issue, especially since cannabis can impair the senses.
Cannabis can impair perception, reaction time, and coordination amongst other skills necessary to drive safely. In California, where the study was conducted, the state has seen a 62% increase in the number of car crashes due to drug-related impairment.
Measuring THC impairment comes with its challenges
Blood-alcohol concentrations (BAC) have significant differences compared to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) blood concentrations, especially on the road. Measuring one’s sobriety from marijuana-related offenses can be far more difficult and requires law enforcement to rely more on behavior-based tests to get a gauge on just how impaired someone is.
However, each field test is largely validated based on alcohol consumption, so it is still unclear just how helpful these…