Reference no: EM133631932
Assignment:
Assignment:
Forensic testing can be conducted on tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in the blood or urine. Should the forensic testing mentioned below is valid and reliable and should be used in convictions.
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ), United States Department of Justice, discussed on April 5, 2021, a 2017 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration research report, titled Impact of the Legalization and Decriminalization of Marijuana on the DWI System:?Highlights from the Expert Panel Meeting. This report documented that "when delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (this is THC, which is one of the psychoactive substances in marijuana) was found in the blood, urine, or oral fluid, law enforcement and prosecutors used this as proof of impairment or intoxication."
But in contrast to this, the NIJ also stated on April 5, 2021, that research funded by the NIJ, titled Field Sobriety Tests and THC Levels Unreliable Indicators of Marijuana Intoxication, documented that "researchers investigated how marijuana affects skills required for safe driving and found that biofluid levels of THC did not correlate with field sobriety test performance or marijuana intoxication, regardless of how the cannabis was ingested."?In other words, testing results for determining impaired or intoxicated driving from THC consumption were not reliable or accurate!
Added to this, the NIJ also pointed out that the Asbridge, Hayden, and Cartwright (2012) research, titled Acute Cannabis Consumption and Motor Vehicle Collision Risk:?Systematic Review of Observational Studies and Meta-Analysis, documented there was "little evidence correlating a specific THC level with impaired driving, making laws establishing impartment or intoxication from THC very controversial and difficult to prosecute."
- So, how should impairment or intoxication from THC consumption be handled regarding driving or when behavior in public could be under the influence of THC?
- Should previous thousands and thousands of convictions for THC impairment or intoxication based upon THC blood, urine, or oral fluid testing be overturned (changed by the courts to not guilty)? Why or why not?