On May 16, the New Mexico Supreme Court presided over arguments on the subject of roadside cannabis testing. according to Santa Fe New MexicoAnd Nina Luna She was pulled over by a law enforcement officer in Albuquerque in 2018. In his report, the officer described Luna as having red, watery eyes, slurred speech, and the smell of cannabis coming from the inside of her car.
Although Luna stated she smoked “pot” hours before driving, the officer conducted a field sobriety test, which is designed to determine alcohol impairment. After performing “poorly” in the field test, Luna was convicted of drink driving, as well as speeding.
During the most recent Supreme Court case, Luna’s public defender argued that a field sobriety test she received should not be accepted as evidence because it does not properly measure cannabis impairment.
Luna’s attorney also asked the Bernalillo County Court that the officer’s testimony be withheld because he is not an expert in drug identification but was denied. State County Court to rule that “any fact-checker can conclude… [Luna] She was so affected by the drug that she couldn’t drive safely.”
The state appeals court echoed this The decision is in 2021. The Court of Appeal Judge J. Miles Hannessy.
In December 2022, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, which led to the events of the final hearing on May 16. Luna’s appeals attorney, Luz Valverde, was questioned about evidence of impairment. “How about a circumstance like here, where there is overwhelming convincing evidence… a weak person?” Judge David Thompson asked.
In response, Valverde stated that the evidence in Luna’s case was not convincing. “I disagree… that the evidence has been overwhelming, particularly in light of recent studies showing that it is difficult to define vulnerability based on [field sobriety tests]Valverde said.
Valverde continued to discuss that while officers should be able to testify about their observations put people (or persons who are not qualified within the legal system), but claims should not be made about a person who succeeded or failed, or claim that the size of the pupil is relative to a weakness without any kind of training.
Adjutant General Merrill Francolini argued against disqualification of an officer’s certification due to lack of training, noting that a 2021 appeals court ruling from the Florida case stated that field sobriety tests are “tests that are easy to understand and that the average person can notice and identify signs of weakness.”
The officer didn’t need to be a [drug recognition expert] to testify in this case, and any objection to the contrary I think will have very serious consequences in the trial courts”, Francolini said. If this court has to try an untrained officer [in drug recognition] Completely incompetent to associate signs of weakness with a drug, when he knows what the drug is because he smelled it and the defendant told him she used it, that’s a slippery slope.”
No ruling was issued during or immediately after the May 16 hearing.
Checking cannabis impairments is not an easy task. Study from May 2022 He determined that THC found in blood or breath tests did not indicate impairment. study canada from April 2021 Emphasize the need for accurate methods of detecting vulnerabilities while driving. We know that cannabis affects driving. said the lead author of the studySarah Wendell. “Disclosure of cannabis, does not necessarily correspond directly to impairment. This is a big, major challenge in this literature. At what level someone has an actual disability and this seems to vary depending on many factors: depending on[the individual]their level of tolerance, how often they they use, and the type and potency of cannabis they use.”
in FebruaryThe Maryland Police Department has begun inviting cannabis consumers to its training academy to demonstrate impaired driving in exchange for water, snacks, and pizza. The participants are then used as test subjects for officers trying to determine if someone is too high to drive. This is not easy. Unlike people who drive while intoxicated, whose vulnerability can be measured by breath analysis and blood alcohol tests, it is difficult to differentiate using pot.” Washington Post in a report.
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