Venosa, Ali. “The High Road: A Marijuana Breathalyzer May Soon Catch People Driving Under The Influence By Detecting THC.” medicaldaily.com, 15 Jul 2015 Web. 15 Jul 2015.
Majoring in Journalism and Science Writing, Ali Venosa, writer for Luxos Magazine and The Brown and White Newspaper, has set out to her next topic, marijuana breathalyzers. Confused, Ali questions its urgency since, much is still needed to learn about marijuana’s affect on humans. Comparing it to alcohol breathalyzers, she also challenges its accuracy in terms of marijuana’s long lasting effect within our bodies. Going forth, within her doubt, she tries to discern common sense amongst entrepreneurs who feel the urgency to come out with the first model.
Initially, the author talks about marijuana breathalyzers inevitability due to the rising popularities of smoking marijuana, and the concerns that come with it. Humorously, Ali mentions the entrepreneurs that seek to be the first to patent the device. “ Other hopefuls in the race to create a THC breathalyzer include Lifeloc Technologies Inc …” Many companies seek the opportunity, however marijuana poses lots of complications that prolongs manufacturing and even doubt others, like Ali. “… The science and reasoning behind how cannabis affects driving is far from being established.” Since marijuana can remain in our bodies systems for weeks, even months, Ali questions the breathalyzers accuracy.
Later within the article, the author differentiates the differences of being under the influence with alcohol compared to marijuana. “The consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol have been publicized- and is well known to the populace…” This introduces her view on how marijuana isn’t recognized, and wonders “ what it means to be ‘under the influence…’” Many states have indeed already set different laws on driving while high, however they vary drastically depending on how intoxicated you are. Therefore, another concern of Ali’s is, if there was a marijuana breathalyzer, shouldn’t it be able to dictate how high a person is at that moment and not from two weeks ago.
At last, Ali sums up her article with an analogy to alcohol. “ A breathalyzer that was unable to tell the difference between a driver that had one beer and a driver that had eight would be rather useless in law enforcement today…” Law enforcement dictates a driver’s sentence depending on how intoxicated one was at the time being. If alcohol breathalyzers read one and eight beers as the same, then law enforcement would have a difficult time during trial. With this said, the author finishes with the article convinced of her own belief. “…It remains to be seen how a THC breathalyzer will fit into the picture.”
This source is valuable in my research for I got to learn about the uprising marijuana breathalyzer, and got to read a contradicting view on it. This article has shown me how marijuana is going to become as broad and popular as beer is, and with that comes consequences that need to be resolved. My peers can find this article useful if they want to learn about the upcoming marijuana breathalyzer and the controversies it brings.