Police to take saliva & blood from drivers at New Year’s drug checkpoints
December 31, 2013 in News by The Manimal
Source: Alter News
As drivers prove their innocence at warrantless police checkpoints this New Year, they will not only be scrutinized over their potential consumption of alcohol. A new technology will enable the police to detect and arrest drivers for having marijuana, narcotics, and “other drugs” in their bloodstreams.
The recently unveiled device is a portable saliva swab analyzer, capable of immediately sampling body fluids for the presence of foreign intoxicants. The machines were paid for by grants from the state.
“Traditionally, our office has focused on drunken driving cases,” Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer said.“We’re expanding drug collection and aggressively enforcing all impaired-driving laws.”
The city attorney said that he had “anecdotal” evidence that medical marijuana users were endangering the streets. The new tactics were applauded by the checkpoint lobbyist group,MADD.
During police roadblocks, drivers are stopped without probable cause and forced into non-consensual interactions with government agents in which they must demonstrate their sobriety before being allowed to continue traveling down the public street.
The saliva swabs are but one of the searches that police can coerce a driver into allowing. Should the driver refuse a saliva search, the police can seek a warrant for a forced blood draw. Often in large checkpoint operations, a judge is placed on-call or on-site to sign such warrants to confiscate blood.
Such events are called “No Refusal” checkpoints, and they are gaining popularity in many states, such as Tennessee and Georgia. And with the new focus on targeting marijuana and narcotics, we can probably expect to see more of them than ever.
Officials claimed the device could detect marijuana, narcotics, and “other drugs.” With approximately 7 out of 10 Americans taking some sort of prescription drug, according to the Mayo Clinic, the question is raised about how many drivers will be arrested because of their prescribed medications.
In a free society, people would not have to be hassled and forced to prove their innocence while traveling down public streets. Police would be better utilized by spreading themselves out and actually looking for reasons to justifiably stop vehicles for breaking traffic laws. Innocent people should not have to deal with constant encounters with the police, which always carry a potential for violence and life-changing consequences.