Breathalyzer Can Detect 12 Controlled Substances Jason Koebler - U.S. News & World Report
go to original April 26, 2013

Stoned drivers may soon be unable to slyly avoid arrest. A new breath-testing machine can detect drugs with as much accuracy as blood and urine tests. (U.S.News)

Police might soon be able to detect more than just alcohol on their breathing test devices. A new Swedish-designed device can detect 12 different controlled substances, including methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, morphine and marijuana.

Though most states have laws against driving under the influence of drugs, police have had no easy way of testing it on the road, so a blood or urine sample has been necessary to charge offenders. In a study published in the Journal of Breath Research Thursday, Olof Beck, of Sweden's Karolinska Institutet, detected drugs on the breath of 47 patients at a drug addiction emergency clinic.

[READ: Using Pot for Pain? A Pill May Outlast a Puff]

"Considering the samples were taken 24 hours after the intake of drugs, we were surprised to find that there was still high detectability for most drugs," Beck said in a statement.

Read the rest at U.S. News & World Report

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