NDLEA:scientists seek a reliable DUI test for marijuana

Although consuming cannabis is legal in Colorado and several other states, driving while under the influence of the drug is not.

In Nigeria NDLEA more often than not make arrests by mounting roadblocks on highways, they also clamp down on drug users in marijuana dispensaries.

There are now more marijuana dispensaries in Nigerian communities than there are ‘Mamaput’

The use of codeine, tramadol is not hidden; so is driving under the influence.

Here’s the rub: Despite the increasingly illegal use of cannabis, codeine, tramadol in many states of Nigeria, NDLEA and police still don’t have the equivalent of a reliable alcohol breathalyzer or blood test — a chemically based way of estimating what the drug is doing in the brain.

Though a blood test exists that can detect some of marijuana’s components, there is no widely accepted, standardized amount in the breath or blood that gives police or courts or anyone else a good sense of who is impaired.

A number of scientists in Colorado are working hard to create just such a chemical test and standard — something to replace the behavioral indicators that cops have to base their judgments on.

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Aside from being a common mess, coming up with a standardized blood or breath test is very expedient, it is also a really tricky chemistry problem because of the properties of the main psychoactive chemical in cannabis: delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.

A number of companies, like Cannabix Technologies and Hound Labs, are in the process of developing breath detection devices.

In the meantime, it’s up to law enforcement officers like NDLEA and police to make the call, based on circumstantial evidence and their best guess.