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Abstract
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Last summer, at our Greene County Medical Society (GCMS) Breckenridge Conference, we learned that Colorado legalized recreational marijuana over ten years ago, and that the motor vehicle accident fatality rate related to marijuana had increased by 138% during that time.
We felt that the GCMS DWI Task Force should look into possible ways to deter similar problems in Missouri before we suffer a similar fate. A few weeks ago, I spoke with Gaize founder and CEO Ken Fichtler about the headset his company had developed to assist in the establishment of impairment secondary to drugs. We were specifically interested in evaluation of the impairment of drivers who had been using cannabis (THC is the psycho-active component). We knew that breath, serum, and urine THC levels do not correlate with impairment as a result of THC use. We also knew that certain eye changes seem to correlate with THC impairment. Mr. Fichtler indicated an interest in having the GCMS facilitate a study that would evaluate the correlation, and sent us a Gaize headset to evaluate.
The Gaize headset reportedly is able to detect ocular findings consistent with use of the most common drugs that can cause driving impairment: CNS depressants, CNS stimulants, hallucinogens, dissociative anesthetics, narcotic analgesics, inhalants, and cannabis. The ocular findings tested include Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, Vertical Gaze Nystagmus, Lack of Convergence (LOC), and Pupillary Rebound (PR). The ocular findings are the same ones that would be typically tested by a DRE police officer in investigation of impaired driving by drugs.
Two Springfield Police DRE trained officers, a Greene County Prosecutor, and I received training on the Gaize headset, and found the device training credible and user friendly. It is also apparently able to provide objective written evidence of ocular findings. Since LOC also occurs in a small percentage of the general population, any positive LOC findings would also require a simple saliva test to confirm THC exposure. ...
Keywords: Cannabis impaired driving
Language: en |