Do Police Drug Test For Marijuana at Roadside traffic Stops?
Since marijuana was legalized in various locations, police have had to come up with ways to establish if you are driving under the influence. They have been forced to come up with some interesting methods to determine this since there no straightforward tests to determine if someone is driving under the influence. If you reside in a location where marijuana has not been legalized, it is an offense if you have it in your car or system. Cops are working on finding ways to determine if the drivers that are pulled over are driving under the influence of marijuana. By reading more here, you can learn about what an officer will do if they suspect that you are under the influence.
The breathalyzer is one option they can use. There are no breathalyzer tests for marijuana currently. This is do0wn to the fact that your impairment does not correlate in any way with the amount of marijuana in your system. A simple drug test cannot establish your level of impairment from THC like it does with alcohol. Reports claim that a doctor in California has invented a marijuana breathalyzer to be used on people suspected of being under the influence. We are still not sure of whether it will be used in the future although it is not being used as of now. Though it will most probably be for alcohol, there is a possibility that a police officer will have you take a breathalyzer test if they suspect you are under the influence.
A urine test can also be used. In some areas, you automatically consent to a urine test if the officer on duty suspects that you could be under the influence. They may ask you to provide a urine sample if an officer believes that you are driving under the influence. This has its disadvantages as well. This because THC can stay in your body for up to a few days after smoking. It may not be enough to incriminate you if the officer fails to prove that you failed a field test or had other indications of being high.
An officer can see if you have THC in your system by using a mouth swab. Just like the others, these tests are not any accurate either. This poses a challenge since officers cannot use them to prove that you are high. If a police officer has no other source of proof, it is almost impossible to charge you for driving under the influence.