Michigan State Police Pilots Second Phase of Statewide Roadside Drug Testing
Michigan State Police has announced its expanded Oral Fluid Roadside Analysis Pilot Program will begin on Tuesday, Oct. 1, and includes participation from drug recognition experts (DREs) in every Michigan county.
This reaches beyond MSP’s initial one-year Oral Fluid Roadside Analysis Pilot program, which was conducted in five counties – Berrien, Delta, Kent, St. Clair and Washtenaw – and concluded in November 2018. While that pilot provided valuable data on the performance of the oral fluid test instrument when coupled with law enforcement observed driver behavior and standardized field sobriety tests, the overall sample size was too small to draw any definitive conclusions on the tool’s usefulness for law enforcement, according to MSP.
Earlier this year, the Oral Fluid Roadside Analysis Pilot Program Committee recommended expansion of the pilot for an additional year to include all DREs in the state to allow a greater number of police departments to participate and to increase the sample size. DREs are police officers who have received highly specified training that allows them to identify drivers impaired by drugs.
“This additional, statewide data will help to determine the usefulness of this tool for law enforcement, as we work to get drug-impaired drivers off Michigan’s roads,” said Lt. Col. Richard Arnold, commander of MSP’s Field Operations Bureau. “Roadside oral fluid testing continues to show promise and by expanding this pilot, we’ll have a larger body of results by which to determine the tool’s effectiveness.”
Under the pilot program, a DRE may require a person to submit to a preliminary oral fluid analysis to detect the presence of a controlled substance in the person’s body if they suspect the driver is impaired by drugs. The preliminary oral fluid analysis will be conducted by a DRE on the person’s oral fluid, obtained by mouth swab, and will be administered along with the drug recognition 12-step evaluation currently used by DREs.
The oral fluid test instrument tests for the presence of the following drugs: amphetamines, benzodiazepines, cannabis (delta 9 THC), cocaine, methamphetamines and opiates. Refusal to submit to a preliminary oral fluid analysis upon lawful demand of a police officer is a civil infraction.
For more information or to view participating law enforcement agencies, visit MSP online.