Measuring Cannabis Impairment: Implications for Law Enforcement and Business Owners

• In Event: Roundtable: Cannabis Legalization - Examining the Impact of the Changing Landscape

Abstract

One of the major challenges in cannabis legalization is the ability of police agencies, businesses, and policymakers to establish an impairment threshold. With alcohol, we have legally definitive thresholds and the mechanics to measure impairment (e.g., breathalyzers), which makes impairment levels more accurate and easier to measure. Cannabis, on the other hand, does not have a true number or impairment level due to its fast metabolism rate of Tetrahydrocannabinol (commonly known as THC) to the brain. Moreover, because cannabis is federally regulated, there are very few validated studies to prove how the various forms and strains of cannabis affect the human brain and body. The implications for law enforcement and employers are many as they attempt to navigate these challenges and create policies and thresholds that will align with the courts. This discussion will focus on these challenges and some methods that are being used to address these concerns.

Author

• Kimberly Houser, Rowan University