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Cannabis intoxication impaired driving lab held in Montgomery County
A special lab is taking place in Montgomery County to study how cannabis impacts driving. Police will work with volunteers who consume cannabis to observe how the drug impacts them in real-time. The goal is to both understand how smoking or ingesting cannabis impairs you, and how officers can spot people who are driving under the influence of the drug.
MONTGOMERY VILLAGE, Md. - Police in Montgomery County are hosting cannabis intoxication driving labs as a way to help train officers and drivers recognize impairment.
At the labs, volunteers who are medically certified cannabis patients consume cannabis and allow law enforcement to observe real-time impairment.
Montgomery County Police Sgt. Patrick Kepp said the workshops give officers training in detecting cannabis-impaired drivers – similar to the way police academies teach methods to recognize alcohol-impaired drivers.
The labs also allow police the opportunity to explain and demonstrate how cannabis consumption can negatively affect the ability to operate motor vehicles safely.
"I think it’s very cool. The more people are educated - the better communities get along," said cannabis user Cat Szafran. "The more the people who are hired to protect us – the more they know – the more protected we will be."