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Engineers Develop the ‘Potalyzer’ — a Roadside Saliva Test for Marijuana Intoxication

posted by martyb on Saturday September 10 2016, @06:42AM   Printer-friendly
from the know-who-you-are-French-kissing dept.

AnonTechie writes:

This November, several US states will vote whether to legalize marijuana use, joining more than 20 states that already allow some form of cannabis use. This has prompted a need for effective tools for police to determine on the spot whether people are driving under the influence. Stanford researchers have devised a potential solution, applying magnetic nanotechnology, previously used as a cancer screen, to create what could be the first practical roadside test for marijuana intoxication.

While police are trying out potential tools, no device currently on the market has been shown to quickly provide a precise measurement of a driver's marijuana intoxication as effectively as a breathalyzer gauges alcohol intoxication. THC, the drug's most potent psychoactive agent, is commonly screened for in laboratory blood or urine tests – not very helpful for an officer in the field. The Stanford device might function as a practical "potalyzer" because it can quickly detect not just the presence of THC in a person's saliva, but also measure its concentration.

http://phys.org/news/2016-09-potalyzer-roadside-saliva-marijuana-intoxication.html

[Source]: Stanford University

[Abstract]: Small Molecule Detection in Saliva Facilitates Portable Tests of Marijuana Abuse

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 10 2016, @04:19PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 10 2016, @04:19PM (#400013)

    what kind of suck ass has never smoked weed? wow! maybe you're a government comment bot?

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 10 2016, @05:18PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 10 2016, @05:18PM (#400042)

    I haven't, because I never had the desire to. It's funny how you would probably get angry at someone if they mocked you for having smoked weed, but if you mock someone for personally choosing to not do so then it's okay.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 10 2016, @08:01PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 10 2016, @08:01PM (#400079)

    what kind of suck ass has never smoked weed?

    An "unpopular social outcast loser" like the first-poster who doesn't have the social connections to buy weed if it's not sold over-the-counter.