A local man's efforts to create a breathalyzer to test for marijuana are getting closer to having the device in the hands of police.
Ladner's Kal Malhi, a retired RCMP officer, has been working on developing a roadside breathalyzer since last year. In August, his company, Cannabix Technologies, signed an agreement with the Yost Research Group at the University of Florida.
The partners have developed a prototype and begun testing. Malhi said right now they're getting accurate readings about 80 per cent of the time and the team is working to refine the system to reach 100 per cent accuracy.
"Our partnership with the Yost Research Group and the University of Florida immediately diversifies Cannabix's portfolio of breath testing technologies for THC," he said after the partnership was announced.
"Our new partnership boosts our ability to deliver a durable, portable hand-held tool to the market to help detect marijuana impaired driving offences on our roads at a time when marijuana is becoming legal in many jurisdictions globally."
Malhi said he came up with the idea for the Cannabix breathalyzer in late 2013 while on a family trip to India.
While waiting at the airport, he came across a study out of Sweden about breath testing technology developed at Karolinska University in Solna. The Swedish study showed that breath samples could be collected and sent to a lab for testing. Malhi took his idea and teamed up with two doctors to try and make it a reality.
Currently, marijuana use can only be detected by testing blood, urine or saliva samples. Police have no way to determine on the road that a driver is under the influence of the drug. Any evidence for charges or a conviction in court is largely based on an officer's observations.
"Police officers have a tough time [proving someone was driving high]," Malhi said. "Our tool would provide that scientific evidence to go to court."
The Cannabix breathalyzer is designed to collect a breath sample, which is then fed into a another part of the device that tests the sample and gives an immediate result, similar to breathalyzers officers use to test for alcohol impairment during roadside checks.
With an increasing number of U.S. states legalizing marijuana sales, and the new Liberal government's campaign promise to do the same here, Malhi said the technology is more urgently needed to enforce road safety and crack down on drivers impaired by the drug.
