A national trend towards the legalization of both recreational and medical cannabis has emerged across the US, affecting many jurisdictions including Colorado. Post-legalization of recreational cannabis, there is evidence to suggest this trend has affected rates of drug-impaired driving in many jurisdictions. This has prompted interest in new and more efficient strategies to facilitate the accurate detection of drug-impaired drivers by police, including both licit and illicit drugs.
To address this issue and explore the potential viability of new detection tools, the Colorado Department of Transportation worked with the Traffic Injury Research Foundation, USA, Inc. to undertake a pilot project. The purpose of this project was to pilot test a methodology to evaluate the viability of a device capable of assessing cognitive and physical impairment of motorists due to drugs other than alcohol during roadside sobriety investigations.
This project was completed in 2023 and the findings helped to inform discussion among politicians with respect to important research questions and possible study methodologies as well as potential detection devices. The knowledge and learning gained through this exploratory study provides a foundation to inform a possible future, larger-scale pilot study to evaluate such devices that show promise for detecting impairment due to drugs when administered at the roadside. The outcomes of this study are detailed in the final report, which is available below.
This study obtained written IRB approval from WCG IRB (https://www.wcgirb.com/about/) to ensure Human Subjects Research protections were observed. The IRB tracking number is 20231077.
