Saliva Swab May Determine If Drivers Are Drug Impaired
RapiScan, a saliva-based drug detection swab made by Cozart, could start showing up in roadside drug tests if Utah’s Logan Police Department receives the grant it requested.
The police department has asked for $5,800 from the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice to start the first pilot study in the nation using roadside saliva detection methods.
The new tool tests for marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamines, and opiates in motorists suspected of using drugs.
The test, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration late last year, is easier to administer than blood or urine tests.
At present, the test is only used by juvenile probation and parole officers in New Mexico and California, but it could show up on Utah highways as early as July 1st.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Hollister Free Lance (06/16/03); Logan, Jed.