Marijuana breathalyzer in the making

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WKBN) – Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are working to develop a marijuana breathalyzer that can be used by law enforcement in the field.

According to a report on Triblive.com, a team from the university’s chemistry and engineering departments are working on a device to measure the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol or THC in a user’s breath.

The research was recently published in the journal ACS Sensors. The device is able to differentiate THC from other compounds found in breath such as CO₂, water, ethanol, methanol, and acetone. The machine’s algorithms were utilized to improve the selective detection of THC with better accuracy at increasing quantities of THC delivered to the chemiresistor.

The machine is not available commercially yet but is patented and could be available soon for law enforcement.