Minn. Police Test Devices to Catch Drug-Impaired Drivers. How'd They Do?

Law enforcement officers across Minnesota have long had tools to administer roadside tests to determine whether drivers have been drinking alcohol.

Now they’re hoping to get devices that will allow them to collect a saliva sample at the scene to test for motorists driving while high on drugs.

The state’s Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) in February turned in a report to the Legislature summarizing its findings of a yearlong pilot in which drug recognition experts tested two devices for accuracy in detecting six classes of drugs and chemicals that can impair drivers.

Results underscored the need for the tools, said Jake Cree, drug recognition evaluator with the Blaine Police Department. More than 87% of drivers screened using the devices tested positive for drug use, with cannabinoids, methamphetamines and amphetamines most common.

Drivers were under the influence of more than one drug in 62% of the screenings, while 90% of drivers under the influence of alcohol tested positive for one or more drugs, the OTS said.

The OTS is now asking lawmakers to approve use of the devices and allocate money to cover cost — $5,000 per unit and $25 per test — to place them in the hands of every police officer in the state.

“If we can save one life by deploying these things, it is absolutely worth every penny we can invest in it,” said OTS director Mike Hanson. “We are excited what these instruments can do to keep you and your family safe on the road. The technology works.”

During the yearlong pilot, motorists stopped on suspicion of impaired driving were asked to voluntarily provide oral fluids through a mouth swab. The results were not allowed to be used in any criminal proceedings or affect driving privileges.

The handheld screening devices are fairly similar to those used to administer preliminary breath tests to detect drunken driving.

“In the state of Minnesota, we have a very serious problem with impaired driving, both with alcohol and in controlled substances,” Cree said during a news conference at Department of Public Safety headquarters Tuesday. “A lot of people don’t realize that euphoric high … after that 10-20 minute high has subsided and you are no longer feeling the effect of those drugs, but your body is still undergoing a lot of effects from that.”

Those effects could include difficulty in focusing the eyes on one point, attention lapses and misperception of time, all of which can be hazardous while driving, he said.

Col. Christina Bogojevic, chief of the Minnesota State Patrol, said the numbers on impaired driving in Minnesota are not improving. Drug-impaired driving accounted for 8,069 driving while impaired incidents from 2013-2017, compared with 15,810 from 2018-2022, OTS data showed.

Moreover, cannabis, which is the third most commonly used substance in the United States behind nicotine and alcohol, is legal in 38 states, either recreationally or for medical purposes. That includes Minnesota.

Recent research from AAA’s Foundation for Traffic Safety found 57% of those who use cannabis drive daily. Nearly 85% of pot users said they drove the same day they consumed it, with 53% saying they consumed it an hour or less before driving.

Perhaps most alarming, Bogojevic said, is that 81% of respondents believed marijuana had no effect on their driving or made them drive better.

“These perceptions and habits need to change,” she said. “If you feel different, you drive different. Our troopers see every day how the choice to drive impaired can end in so many ways.”

The OTS was authorized to run the pilot as part of the 2023 Cannabis Legalization Act. The law appointed the OTS to design, plan and implement and study using oral fluid roadside instruments. The pilot cost about $900,000.

The OTS in its report to the Legislature said the drug detecting technology confirmed that a multiple-substance impaired driving crisis is occurring on Minnesota roads. And in nearly every case, results matched those from laboratory test results.

“The pilot makes clear that we must adequately equip our law enforcement officers with every tool possible to assist them in removing dangerous drivers from our roadways,” the report said.

The report recommended that lawmakers approve use of both units tested during the pilot.

“These devices will be helpful for law enforcement to make streets safer for all of us to enjoy,” Cree said.

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