Minnesota Department of Public Safety Launches Pilot Project for Roadside Marijuana Impairment Testing

(KNSI) — The Minnesota Department of Public Safety is entering into a pilot project this month for a roadside testing product to determine if a driver is under the influence of marijuana.

The test would be similar to a preliminary breath test to detect the presence of alcohol, but it would be an oral fluid roadside testing instrument. It’s called the SoToxa Oral Fluid Mobile Analyzer and detects the presence of cannabis or other drugs in a driver. It will be used by drug recognition evaluators from different law enforcement agencies statewide.

The SoToxa is one of two tools the officers will evaluate this year for roadside cannabis use testing.

The other is called the Dräger – DrugTest 500, which also analyzes oral fluids. That training will be conducted at a later date.

Drivers would not be required to submit to the test, but data would be collected voluntarily. Any results would not be admissible in court, nor would they be used to establish probable cause for an arrest.

Any data collected with this pilot project would be put in a report and turned over to lawmakers. The DPS says the goal is to get the Minnesota Legislature to approve using an oral fluid roadside testing instrument in the field. That won’t happen until 2025.

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