If recreational marijuana finally becomes legal in Illinois, driving to a cannabis dispensary will be as commonplace as swinging by the liquor store. But are Illinois police officers ready to keep the streets safe from a potential influx of stoned drivers? And can police even tell when a driver is stoned?
The screening process can also include a toxicology exam involving a blood or urine test. A urine test is problematic, because the screening doesn’t return definitive results saying whether the person tested was under the influence of a specific drug at the time the test was taken, experts said.
Still, the officers do play a role in court. “A DRE can easily be qualified, by a judge, as an expert witness in court,” says Sergeant Justin Luria, a Lincolnwood DRE officer, allowing the officer to testify as to whether he believed the driver was high or not.
Experts said a blood or a urine test and a DRE evaluation are the best way to determine intoxication at the time of arrest. But many police departments do not have the resources to conduct both tests and have few trained officers. Chicago, for example, only has only one DRE officer on its entire force.
