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Marijuana in Minnesota


COMING SOON TO MINNESOTA ROADWAYS: ORAL TESTS FOR MARIJUANA, OTHER DRUG USE BY
DRIVERS

Dana Ferguson
Maple Grove, Minn.
January 5, 2024 2:45 PM
Ramsey County Sheriff's deputy Jeremy Brodin produces a saliva sample during a
cannabis detection technology training demonstration in Maple Grove on Friday.
Ben Hovland | MPR News


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Inside a conference room at a Maple Grove shooting range, police officers from
around the state gathered to test out new devices that can track traces of drugs
in a person’s system using their spit.

One at a time, they’d pretend to be conducting a roadside stop. They’d rip open
a foil packet and talk another officer through the process of administering the
test, brushing a swab across their gum lines, much like a toothbrush, then
brushing their cheeks before handing it over to be analyzed.

Starting this month, similar exercises will play out on Minnesota roadways as
law enforcement officers roll out a pilot project testing a new by-mouth testing
device — but for drugs.

Five months after Minnesota legalized adult possession, use and home growth of
cannabis, officials said they hope the devices can act as a new tool for
assessing when someone is driving under the influence.


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A Dräger DrugTest 5000 sits on a table during a cannabis detection demonstration
in Maple Grove on Friday.
Ben Hovland | MPR News

“If we think about decades ago when the preliminary breath test was first being
introduced, this was likely the very same conversation,” said Minnesota State
Patrol Chief Col. Matt Langer. “Today that device is tried and true and people
believe in it and believe the results when it is used correctly.”

The tests will be voluntary and are set to be administered much like a
preliminary breath test that is used to determine a person’s blood-alcohol
concentration.

 * EarlierMinnesota cops on guard for ‘high way’ drivers in new marijuana era
 * RelatedNew marijuana law likely to ignite legal challenges

If a driver gets pulled over for suspicion of driving while intoxicated, an
officer can first conduct a Breathalyzer test to detect alcohol in their system.
If they rule that out as a possible cause of impairment, they can ask them to
participate in a field test and that could include taking an oral fluid test
that could show the presence of a handful of drugs in their system.

During the course of the pilot project — expected to last about a year — the
results won’t be admissible in court. They can’t be used as probable cause for
an arrest. Officers conducting a stop won’t be able to see the results during
the course of their stop.

“It can’t be used to make that decision of whether or not I’m going to make an
arrest or not,” Office of Traffic Safety Director Mike Hanson said. “It’s simply
a data collection device.”

Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety Director Mike
Hanson answers questions from the media after a training demonstration in Maple
Grove on Friday.
Ben Hovland | MPR News

The first testing device in Minnesota to roll out is called the SoToxa oral
fluid mobile analyzer.

The devices are produced by the health care company Abbott. The group claims
that they can detect six classes of drugs from an oral fluid sample within five
minutes. Tests are said to detect THC — the component in marijuana that creates
a sensation of being high — along with cocaine, opioids, amphetamine,
methamphetamine and benzodiazepines.

The devices, along with a similar test called the Dräger, are set to become a
more common fixture for Minnesota police officers this year. By year’s end, law
enforcement groups hope to have concrete data they can share with lawmakers
outlining the need for additional tests and a law change that allows them to be
used in collecting evidence.

City of Big Lake Police Sergeant Sam Norlin inserts a saliva sample into a
SoToxa™ mobile testing system during a cannabis detection technology
demonstration in Maple Grove on Friday.
Ben Hovland | MPR News

Law enforcement in a handful of other states have piloted the tests. In
Michigan, data from a pilot project showed that 24 percent of tests reported
positive for drug use wouldn’t have come up as positive in a drug test.

Rob Duckworth, a program manager for SoToxa, said that’s an inaccurate takeaway.
He said the oral fluid test can detect the level of recently used substances,
while blood or urine might provide different results.

“It’s like comparing apples and oranges,” he said.

Langer said the state hasn’t yet tracked data for cannabis drug-related impaired
driving offenses since it became legal for adults 21 and older in August. But
overall drug-related impaired driving has been on the rise in recent years, he
said.

A SoToxa™ mobile testing system prints the results of a sample test during a
cannabis detection technology demonstration in Maple Grove on Friday.
Ben Hovland | MPR News
 * Here’s where Minnesota’s legal cannabis journey will go next in 2024
 * Wisconsin Republicans to offer proposal to legalize medical marijuana
 * Minnesota medical cannabis director resigns leaving 2nd opening for marijuana
   regulator

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