Pubdate: Mon, 04 May 2015
Source: Honolulu Star-Advertiser (HI)
Copyright: 2015 Star Advertiser
Contact: 
http://www.staradvertiser.com/info/Star-Advertiser_Letter_to_the_Editor.html
Website: http://www.staradvertiser.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5154
Author: Rick Armon, Akron Beacon Journal

POT BREATHALYZER-LIKE DEVICE IN WORKS

Using Saliva, the Cannibuster Would Provide Police With a Suspect's 
THC Level in Minutes

AKRON, OHIO - Two University of Akron students are developing a 
mobile device similar to a Breathalyzer that will test the level of 
marijuana in one's system.

Called the Cannibuster, it could be a significant roadside tool for 
law enforcement as more states allow the medical and recreational use 
of the drug.

"Marijuana is considered to be the fastest-growing industry in the 
United States today," said University of Akron biomedical engineering 
student Kathy Stitzlein, who came up with the idea. "We want to be on 
the cutting edge."

If authorities now suspect marijuana impairment in motorists, they 
have to rely on blood or urine tests that can take weeks for 
confirmation. But the Cannibuster, using saliva, will provide a 
reading for the level of THC, the psychoactive compound that gives 
marijuana users a high, in a few minutes on a device that's about the 
size of a smartphone.

The potential market for the technology is huge. Twenty-three states, 
including Hawaii, Colorado and Washington, permit medical or 
recreational marijuana use.

States have allowed marijuana use and then have no way of knowing - 
other than using drug recognition techniques or picking up an odor - 
whether someone is actually impaired at the scene, Stitzlein said.

The effort, led by Stitzlein, 54, and Mariam Crow, 23, already is 
attracting plenty of attention - both comical and financial. The 
invention was mentioned on the "Conan" show last week, with TV host 
Conan O'Brien goofing on the possibility of a device detecting marijuana use.

The Ohio Third Frontier has provided $50,000 in funding, with the 
university matching that amount. Stitzlein and Crow also won the 
LaunchTown Entrepreneurship competition last month, earning $10,000 
from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation.

The two students hooked up through the university's Biomedical 
Engineering Design Team. Stitzlein is focusing on the technology, 
while Crow is working on marketing and developing relationships with 
law enforcement.

They still have plenty of work to do before the Cannibuster hits the 
road for field testing. They are conducting lab tests involving 
blood, urine and saliva to ensure reliable readings and will even do 
a controlled study with people in the future.

They hope to have a prototype device developed by December and then 
have law enforcement test it in the field.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom