Michigan legislators weigh giving drivers saliva tests for marijuana

[DonViejo]

Source: Detroit Free Press

Under a bill proposed in Lansing, Michigan could become the first state to adopt a roadside saliva test that aims to tell police whether a driver is impaired due to consuming pot.

Saliva testing is being pushed by a bipartisan group of Michigan legislators and championed by the Michigan State Police. But researchers who’ve studied the test method said results are inconsistent and especially misleading when applied to regular users of cannabis, such as the more than 100,000 Michiganders who are allowed to use medical marijuana.

“We need to look to the future,” said state Rep. Dan Lauwers, a Republican from Brockway Township near Port Huron, who sponsored the bill.

Los Angeles police are using the saliva tests in field trials, said Don Targowski, a Santa Monica defense attorney who is active in marijuana cases. The Los Angeles police seek to determine “if the evidence from these tests is going to hold up in court,” said Targowski, who has offices in Grand Rapids as well as in suburban Los Angeles.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.freep.com/article/20140421/NEWS06/304210017/medical-marijuana-THC-saliva-testing-Michigan

[freebrew]

1. Gotta keep the boot on their throats...nt

[otherone]

7. half steppin

[littlewolf]

2. nope disagree I am all for people being free to consume THC

in what ever from they wish, as long as they stay off the road.
this is not that much different then drunk driving from how I understand it. you have a right to get high, you do NOT have a right
to endanger other people on the road.
I hope they find a test that is consistent and as easy to administer as a breathalyzer.

[notadmblnd]

10. I'm all for testing for prescription pain pills and anti depressants

Way too many people driving under the influence of these debilitating drugs and from what I understand they're not much different from drunk driving.

[billhicks76]

15. Stupid

Cell phones are the #1 cause of accidents first off. Secondly, research has PROVEN that alcohol impairs senses and marijuana enhances them. Thus, the main problem with stoned drivers is that they drive too slow because the may feel a need to be overly careful as noises are louder and feelings more intense but you will never see one going 90 down the highway. This is just about cops wanting more money they are losing as people ditch the wasteful war on drugs. Are we going to arrest people driving on caffeine or cigarettes too? Cannabis flowers are not alcohol. Please dont reinforce ignorance.

[Yo_Mama]

18. The saliva test probably is not good at distinguishing users from stoned drivers

Standard workplace tests have reasonable error rates already, but there they are testing for users. However when you start testing for high drivers with marijuana, it gets a lot harder.

What the police would like is a test that tells them reliably whether the person is stoned and driving.

[ArcticFox]

22. So sick of people equating pot with alcohol

I am not all that afraid of people driving while high. Drunk driving is dangerous. Driving high is not even close.

[2pooped2pop]

3. so basically they will keep at this until marijuana smokers

who do vote more dem than anything else, should not be able to drive or get a job since the metabolites stay in your system for over a month?

In Indiana and a few other states, it is a zero tolerance. Any metabolites from smoking a month ago, is still an automatic dui because in Indiana, with pot being a schedule 1 drug like heroin, there is no medical marijuana, so there is zero tolerance. ANy pot in your blood test shows up and you get a dui.

while I agree that people should not smoke and drive, there needs to be a level of active pot in your system, agreed upon to consider one still under the influence. This metabolite shit is insane.

[littlewolf]

14. agree totally. I tried badly up thread to say this

you did a much better job. thank you.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

4. Cops with spit cups.

[catbyte]

5. Christ on a cracker. Haven't those baggers done ENOUGH to us?

[michreject]

6. I'd like to agree but then there's this part

Saliva testing is being pushed by a bipartisan group of Michigan legislators

[CBGLuthier]

8. As has been proven many times before democrats can be as stupid on cannabis policy as republican.

bipartisan is meaningless when both groups are ignorant.

[Jesus Malverde]

9. scum, codifying cannabis DUI in the washington "legalization"

was a major mistake or victory if your a cop.

[navarth]

11. I've never seen any evidence that casual use makes you an unsafe driver.

I, for one, am the safest driver on the road when I've smoked recently. I'm less aggressive, more cautious, this combined with my usual consideration of the other drivers.

The most dangerous driver on the road is the inconsiderate asshole who drives slow in the fast lane and doesn't get out of the way of those trying to go faster than him/her. Give me a stoned driver any time. You'll find them in the slow lane enjoying the ride.

Yes, as with any rule, there are exceptions. But I'm dead set against this bullshit law. Keep the laws reasonable and the people won't protest.

My 2 cents.

[ArcticFox]

23. Thanks for the post

[DreamSmoker]

12. This is not a party thing either..

Many Dems in California have pushed this as well..
The Dumb Shits have no clue that a accurate test does not exist..
This has been a sore spot on this for over 40yrs...

[bunnies]

13. This is one of the dumbest things Ive ever heard.

*smh* Smoke yesterday and cant drive today? Yeah. That makes sense.

Meanwhile, how many people are driving while on pharmaceuticals?!

[Tom Ripley]

16. Follow the money to the test manufacturers who are backing these legislators

[Egnever]

17. ^^^THIS^^^

[pilar007]

20. you hit it on the head

Follow the money

[arcane1]

21. And a way to make money in the face of legalization, I suppose.

They can't be busted for possession so let's try to catching them driving. If the test is inaccurate that's even "better"!

[Tom Ripley]

25. There is no more parasitic industry than the drug testing industry

They make Religion, Inc. look like a lemonade stand

[ArcticFox]

24. Are these the ones pushing a few years back

For drug testing MI welfare recipients?

[bob27]

19. They are not getting any of my precious bodily fluids.

They want my saliva. They want my blood. They want my semen. Once they get any of them, they can track me for the rest of my life. Col. Buck Turgidson was right. So was Nancy Reagan. Just say no.

[2pooped2pop]

26. this is correct, however

saying no will get you arrested. They need probable cause? Yep and they will lie to get it. Then they take you in, call for a court order and take your blood. They have it all figured out so that we are totally fucked.

[Boxerfan]

27. You can be "dirty" for over a month after last use...

I know because I tried desperately to pass a pee test. It was a fresh hire situation about 12 years ago. I knew when they would do the test & abstained from my medicine for 32 days iirc.

I was still a fail-


Just sayin...