Triple Beam Technology Marijuana Breathalyzer Cannibuster Almost Ready for Field Testing

With marijuana being legalized in various states around the country, some are arguing that a marijuana breathalyzer may be necessary. One company is trying to meet the demand with its new product that is almost ready for field testing.

Kathy Stitzlein of Triple Beam Technology, the company developing the marijuana breathalyzer, shared with Fox8,

“When we started there was one state that had legalized recreational marijuana and my college age students said ‘we need to do this, we need to come up with a test for roadside use.’”

She also shared with the news segment the prototype in 2015.

Reportedly, the breathalyzer uses a test strip to test a saliva sample. It is able to provide law enforcement with a reading about the sample in about 15 minutes. Although the test can provide a positive or negative reading, it is not equipped for a quantitative reading of impairment level.

She added that Triple Beam Technology has,

“come a long way from when we started our lab here. We knew what we wanted to do and we had an idea of how we were going to do that. We have spent the last four years doing proof of concept studies and refining our idea. And then, about a year ago, we went out and got a company to build us just a concept,”

She continued that there is a learning curve for police and lawmakers, adding,

“The states are establishing impairment levels for prosecution and so we are using those as like our benchmark. There is still a lot of research that needs to happen on impairment.”

The company is also open to seeking FDA approval, which would allow use of the device at home and by medical provides.

She added,

“We have had a lot of interest from labor and employers and insurance. There's just a whole bunch of markets opening up besides impairment and law enforcement, criminal justice, and Our goal is to provide a tool and to keep up with the technology — to make sure we are able to measure in the area that's considered impaired.”