Transcript Making a Marijuana Impaired Driving Case Sergeant

Making a Marijuana
Impaired Driving
Case
Michael Halford
Missouri State Highway Patrol
Objectives
• Identify common signs and symptoms of
marijuana use
• Identify drug paraphernalia associated
with marijuana use
Objectives
• Identify common signs and symptoms of
marijuana impaired driving
• Discuss best practices for making a
marijuana impaired driving case
Objectives
• Discuss recent studies completed with
marijuana impaired drivers
• Discuss recent finding from the Drug
Evaluation and Classification Program
concerning marijuana impaired drivers
Common Signs
• Smell / Odor
• Burnt Marijuana
• Green Marijuana
• Cover Scent
Common Signs
• Sight
• Marijuana
• Paraphernalia
Common Symptoms
• Inappropriate behavior
• Poor coordination
• Short term memory issues
• Slow responses
Common Symptoms
• Bloodshot eyes
• Relaxed inhibitions
• Increased appetite
• Over use of the word
“Dude”
Common Paraphernalia
Driving Clues
• Divided Attention issues
• Loss of depth perception
• Short attention span
• Erratic speeds
Driving Clues
• Lane violations
• Stopping for red light then
proceeding through it
Making the Case
• RsMO 577.010
• A person commits the
offense of driving while
intoxicated if he or she
operates a vehicle while
in an intoxicated
condition.
Making the Case
• RsMO 577.001
• "Intoxicated" or "intoxicated
condition", when a person
is under the influence of
alcohol, a controlled
substance, or drug, or any
combination thereof;
Making the Case
Document
Without
Judgment
Making the Case
• Document the Behavior
• Demeanor
• Relaxation
• Memory function
• Concentration level
Making the Case
• Document the Impairment
• Field sobriety tests
• HGN
• Walk and Turn
• One Leg Stand
• Modified Romberg
Balance
Making the Case
• Document the Impairment
• Field sobriety tests
• Finger to Nose
• Alphabet
• Counting backwards
• Self Analysis
Studies
• 2015 University of Iowa
National Advanced Driving
Simulator
• 2016 DRE Characteristics
of Cannabis Impairment
U of I Study
• National Advanced Driving
Simulator (NADS) used
during the study
• Assessed
• Standard deviation of
lateral position (SDLP)
U of I Study
U of I Study
• Marilyn Huestis, Ph.D.
• University of Maryland
Baltimore School of
Medicine
• Tim Brown, Cognitive
Systems Engineering
Senior Researcher
• NADS
U of I Study
Assessed (SDLP)
• Weaving within the lane
• Frequency of weaving
without leaving the lane
• Speed of weaving
U of I Study
• Found similar SDLP for
BrAC .08% to be 13.1 ug/L
THC
• Found the combined use of
alcohol and marijuana has
an additive effect on SDLP
U of I Study
• Looked at the
concentration of THC in the
driver’s system while they
were driving and not the
level of THC after the
driving had ceased.
U of I Study
• Found testing oral fluid to
determine marijuana use
is reliable, but unreliable to
determine impairment.
DRE Characteristic Study
• Jack Richman, OD - New
England College of
Optometry
• Chuck Hayes – IACP DRE
Program Manager
DRE Characteristic Study
Objectives
• Determine if there is a
relationship between
performance impairment and
cannabis blood levels
• Corroborate the major and
general cannabis impairment
indicators used in DRE training
• Publish the findings
DRE Characteristic Study
Objectives
• Determine if cannabis impairs
psychomotor and cognitive
performance using actual DRE
evaluations
• Identify other cannabis
impairment indicators
DRE Characteristic Study
Objectives
• Determine if cannabis impairs
psychomotor and cognitive
performance using actual DRE
evaluations
• Identify other cannabis
impairment indicators
DRE Characteristic Study
• Analyzed 302 cannabis
DRE evaluations from AZ,
CA, CO, MT, NM, PA, TX,
WA, WI
• Blood confirmation of Δ 9tetrahydrocannabinol
DRE Characteristic Study
• Contained no other drug or
alcohol in the blood sample
• 114 cases below 5 ng/mL
THC (38%)
• 188 cases at 5 ng/mL THC
and above (62%)
DRE Characteristic Study
Traffic Stop Reason
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Crash
Speed
Weave Imp Turn
DTD
Fail to Equip Vio Lic Vio Crim Act
Yield
72% of cases involved one or more moving violations.
DTD – Disobeyed Traffic Device
Other
DRE Characteristic Study
• Speed – The driver’s
inability to properly
monitor, both slow and
excessive speeds
• Weaving – Standard
Deviation of Lateral
Position (SDLP)
DRE Characteristic Study
• Modified Romberg Balance
• Found less than 50% of
the 302 cases analyzed
showed the subject to be
outside of the DRE
normal range of +/- 5
seconds.
DRE Characteristic Study
• Modified Romberg Balance
• Still a good test to
identify and document
swaying, eye lid tremors
and body tremors.
DRE Characteristic Study
Walk and Turn
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0
1
2
3
4
Clues Observed
5
6
7&8
DRE Characteristic Study
• 80.3% of the time the
subject exhibited 2 or more
clues
• Only 1% of the time the
subject exhibited 7 or 8
clues.
DRE Characteristic Study
• One Leg Stand
• Swaying - 77.3% of the
302 cases analyzed
• Used Arms – 33.0 to
37.3% of the 302 cases
analyzed
DRE Characteristic Study
• One Leg Stand
• Hops – 9.3 to 10.0% of
the 302 cases analyzed
• Foot – 17.7 to 18.0% of
the 302 cases analyzed
DRE Characteristic Study
Finger to Nose
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
Fingertip to tip of nose misses
6
DRE Characteristic Study
• Finger to Nose
• While not a standardized
test, controlled tests with
non-impaired subjects
showed 93.3% of the
subjects showed 2 or
less clues.
DRE Characteristic Study
• Finger to Nose
• 87.3% of the analyzed
DRE evaluations
subjects showed 3 or
more clues during the
FTN.
DRE Characteristic Study
• DRE Characteristic Study
determined:
• FSTs are reliable tests to
determine impairment
with cannabis users.
DRE Characteristic Study
• DRE Characteristic Study
determined:
• Clues were more
apparent during later
parts of the FST test.
The New Marijuana
• 37.2% THC in plant
material
• 13% average THC in plant
material
• 80+% THC in
concentrates
The New Marijuana
• Kief
The New Marijuana
• Kief
The New Marijuana
• Concentrates
•
Wax
The New Marijuana
• Concentrates
•
Shatter / Shatter Wax
The New Marijuana
• Concentrates
•
Transdermal Patch
The New Marijuana
• Edibles
•
Candy
The New Marijuana
• Edibles
Gummies
The New Marijuana
• Edibles
The New Marijuana
• Drinks
Review
• “I have been in vehicles driven by
people that were high and it was a
pretty ordinary experience. For
whatever reason, despite detrimental
effects on short-term memory and
reaction times, marijuana doesn't
make you a worse driver.” unknown
Review
• Investigate
• If it doesn’t make sense to you,
investigate.
• Document
•
EVERYTHING
Making a Marijuana
Impaired Driving Case
• Source Documents
• International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
Drug Evaluation and Classification Program (DRE)
Manual
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration –
Drugs and Human Performance Fact Sheet on
Marijuana
• 2015 University of Iowa National Advanced Driving
Simulator
• 2016 DRE Characteristics of Cannabis Impairment