PHOENIX — Ever since the legalization of marijuana in Arizona, law enforcement, courts, and employers have tried to figure out what constitutes impairment.
Unlike alcohol, there is no quick, legally accepted test for impairment from marijuana, and marijuana's active ingredient can stick around for weeks.
“We don't risk being tested at work and then being fired because we used alcohol a week ago, but that's sort of the problem we face with marijuana,” said Electratect CEO Evan Darzi.
Darzi's company wants to develop a Breathalyzer to detect THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. He said studies in 2014 and 2019 showed that THC molecules become nearly undetectable on your breath after four to five hours.
“That kind of encompasses the window of impairment,” Darzi said.
However, creating a machine to measure that is a challenge. Darzi said there are more chemicals from alcohol on someone's breath than THC. To counteract this, any Breathalyzer would need to be extremely sensitive.
Then there is the size problem. Most machines capable of detecting THC are tabletop-sized and cost over $100,000. Darzi hopes to make a Breathalyzer that is handheld and costs $100.
But the machine is the first step—then we need to know what the thc levels mean.
Even after the machine is created, the Breathalyzer would likely be a tool to understand what levels of THC cause impairment.
“We don’t have that right now,” Darzi said.
Each person has a different tolerance for THC. Those tolerances can vary from person to person based on their body types to how often they use the drug.
Darzi expects it to be two years before the Breathalyzer is ready. Then he wants to see testing and research to try and create a standard that employers and law enforcement can use.
“We still have a lot of work to do, but that’s the beauty of science. You have to start somewhere,” Darzi said.
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