Police to take saliva & blood from drivers at New Year’s drug checkpoints
A new technology opens the door to new ways to arrest people. ● 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.”