Police do not have device field device to determine if driver is under influence of marijuana

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>> IT CAN DETECT THE PRESENCE OF THC IN HUMAN BREATH. JANELLE IT LOOKS LIKE YOUR AVERAGE RAFFLE IS HER. PLASTIC CASING, PROTRUDING MOUTHPIECE, DIGITAL DISPLAY. BUT IT’S NOT. >> IF THERE IS SUSPICION OF A PERSON DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE, THEY CAN HAVE BLOOD SAMPLES WHICH TAKES A LONG TIME TO GET THE RESULTS FROM. WE ARE HOPING THIS DEVICE, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE THE DETECTION ON THE SPOT. JANELLE: RIGHT NOW, POLICE DO NOT HAVE A DEVICE THAT CAN BE USED IN THE FIELD TO DETERMINE IF A DRIVER IS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF MARIJUANA. BUT NEW RESEARCH FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH IS LOOKING TO CHANGE THAT. >> THE LEVELS OF THC ACTUALLY ARE THE HIGHEST IMMEDIATELY AFTER USE AND THEN IT GOES DOWN. THE DEVOUT -- IF THE DEVICE IS SAID TO THE RIGHT LEVELS, IT CAN DETECT USES OF RECENT MARIJUANA USE. JANELLE: THE DEVICE WAS DEVELOPED USING CARBON NANOTUBES, TINY TUBES OF CARBON, 100,000 TIMES SMALLER THAN A HUMAN HAIR. >> THIS PROTOTYPE WAS TESTED ON ONE USER. WE COLLECTED HUMAN BREATH SPAT -- SAMPLES AND COMPARE THAT TO THE GLOBAL MASS SPECTROMETER. JANELLE: CURRENTLY, ONLY MEDICAL MARIJUANA IS LEGAL IN PENNSYLVANIA. BUT THE IDEA OF LEGALIZING RECREATION MARIJUANA IS BEING PASSED AROUND. LIETENANT GOVERNOR JOHN FETTERMAN, TAKING THAT DICUSSION TO ALL 67 COUNTIES IN THE COMMONWEALTH. WHILE A DECISION HAS YET TO BE MADE ON THAT FRONT, RESEARCHERS ARE HOPEFUL THAT THIS TECHONOLOGY WILL BE A HELPFUL TOOL. -- TOOL. >> FOR THE FUTURE, WE ARE HOPING OUR TECHNOLOGY, SENSOR TECHNOLOGY CAN BE USEFUL FOR THE DETECTION OF THC. JANELLE: THE RESEARCHERS WILL CONTINUE TO TEST THE PROTOTYPE, BUT HOPE IT WILL SOON MOVE TO MANUFACTURING, AND BE AVAILABLE FO

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Police currently do not have a device that can be used in the field to determine if a driver is under the influence of marijuana, but new research from the University of Pittsburgh is looking to change that. Watch the full report and see the device in the video player above. The device can measure how much marijuana someone smoked or ingested. THC is the psychoactive compound in marijuana. "If there is suspicion that a person is driving under the influence, they can then take blood samples which take a long time to get the results from. We are hoping with this device, they will be able to make the detection on the spot," said Alexander Star, professor of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh. The device was developed using carbon nanotubes, which are tiny tubes of carbon that are 1/100,000th the diameter of a human hair. Nanotechnology sensors can detect THC at levels comparable to, or better than mass spectrometry, which is considered the gold standard for THC detection. Currently, only medical marijuana is legal in Pennsylvania but the idea of legalizing recreational marijuana is being passed around. The researchers will continue to test the prototype but hope it will soon move to manufacturing and be available for use.