New THC Breathalyzer Can Detect Users Under the Influence
As recreational marijuana legalization becomes more widespread throughout the U.S., so has concern about what that means for enforcing DUI laws. Unlike a breathalyzer used to detect alcohol, police do not have a device that can be used in the field to determine if a driver is under the influence of marijuana. New research from the University of Pittsburgh is poised to change that.
An interdisciplinary team from the Department of Chemistry and the Swanson School of Engineering has developed a breathalyzer device that can measure the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in marijuana, in the user’s breath. Current drug testing methods rely on blood, urine or hair samples and therefore cannot be done in the field. They also only reveal that the user has recently inhaled the drug, not that they are currently under the influence.
Ervin Sejdic, PhD (left) and Alexander Star, PhD, hold up the prototype of their THC-detecting device.
Credit: University of Pittsburgh
“The semiconductor carbon nanotubes that we are using weren’t available even a few years ago,” says Sean Hwang, lead author on the paper and a doctoral candidate in chemistry at Pitt. “We used machine learning to ‘teach’ the breathalyzer to recognize the presence of THC based on the electrical currents recovery time, even when there are other substances, like alcohol, present in the breath.”
Hwang works in the Star Lab, led by Alexander Star, PhD, professor of chemistry with a secondary appointment in bioengineering. The group partnered with Ervin Sejdic, PhD, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the Swanson School of Engineering, to develop the prototype.
“Creating a prototype that would work in the field was a crucial step in making this technology applicable,” says Dr. Sejdic. “It took a cross-disciplinary team to turn this idea into a usable device that’s vital for keeping the roads safe.”
The prototype looks similar to a breathalyzer for alcohol, with a plastic casing, protruding mouthpiece, and digital display. It was tested in the lab and was shown to be able to detect the THC in a breath sample that also contained components like carbon dioxide, water, ethanol, methanol, and acetone. The researchers will continue to test the prototype but hope it will soon move to manufacturing and be available for use.
“In legal states, you’ll see road signs that say “Drive High, Get a DUI,’ but there has not been a reliable and practical way to enforce that,” says Dr. Star. “There are debates in the legal community about what levels of THC would amount to a DUI, but creating such a device is an important first step toward making sure people don’t partake and drive.”
Contacts and sources:
Maggie Pavlick
University of Pittsburgh
Citation: ”Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) Detection using Semiconductor-enriched Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Chemiresistors,” (DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.9b00762) was published in the journal ACS Sensors and was coauthored by Sean Hwang, Long Bian, David White, Seth Burkert, Raymond Euler, Brett Sopher, Miranda Vinay and Alexander Star, from the Department of Chemistry, and Nicholas Franconi, Michael Rothfuss, Kara Bocan, and Ervin Sejdic, from the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.9b00762
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How nice. The problem is: THC had no detrimental effect on driving. This is proven by the tests done by: AAA, NHTSA and the State of Michigan. See these studies before you believe anything that the police/prosecutors/DEA tell you because they each have a vested interest in keeping THC illegal. This “driving danger” is fake, it is propaganda by the cops. Wake up people.
Don’t forget many years ago, the Federal Government even conducted tests, in regards to how smoking pot affected driving, with participants smoking high grade shit that the Federal Government grew themselves, & unfortunately, they saw no ill effect, on those who smoked the Federal Government high quality weed, & driving…
The research project never said, if those participants smoked weed prior to driving, or smoked weed while driving = either way, it doesn’t make a difference…
NOW SINCE WEED, DRUGS, & ALCOHOL, AFFECT EACH PERSON DIFFERENTLY = IT WOULD ONLY TAKE 1 SMACKED ASS WHO COULDN’T HANDLE HIS / HER WEED, TO MAKE THE DESIRED RESULTS THAT THEY SEEK TO BE SUCCESSFUL, ALTHOUGH HOWEVER THOSE WHO KNOW, KNOW THAT, THAT 1 SMACKED ASS IS A TOTAL FUCKING LOSER, WHO SHOULDN’T BE DOING ANYTHING IN THE 1ST PLACE, 7 THAT INCLUDES BREATHING…
7 = &
Yup these guys are dicks
THEY BOTH ARE WAY WORSE THAN THAT = SCUMBAG MOTHER FUCKERS…
The name Sejdic is Bosnian = FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT FOREIGNER…
I WISH I COULD SAY WHAT I REALLY WANT 2 SAY, BUT I AM PRETTY SURE THAT YOU FEEL ME, SO I WILL LEAVE IT AT THAT…
THEY WILL EVENTUALLY BOTH GET WHAT IS COMING TO THEM, ALONG WITH ALL OF THE CAREER CRIMINAL POLITICIANS, & ALL OF THOSE ILLEGAL ALIENS WHO LIKE TO RAPE America’s CHILDREN…
WE THE PEOPLE ARE ONLY GOING TO TAKE SO MUCH MORE = ACTUALLY IT IS ALREADY BEYOND THE POINT OF NO RETURN = SHIT IS READY TO ERUPT & EXPLODE…