An App to Measure Impairment

As time has passed since some states have legalized marijuana, the question comes up about impaired driving and how to measure impairment from marijuana. With Massachusetts being fully legal and with talk in Rhode Island of being one of the next states to legalize, people are concerned about DUI/OUI with people using marijuana. While there are well-known tools to measure blood-alcohol levels, this is not so with marijuana. THC levels can build up in a user’s body, but not cause impairment. So a THC test is not useful in the moment.

Because we are DUI/OUI attorneys in Rhode Island and Massachusetts (along with divorce, child custody, child support, utility law, and other matters) we were especially interested to read this article about this innovative psychologist who came up with a way to measure cognitive impairment using an App.

Currently being tested by police officers and in research facilities at Yale and Johns Hopkins (among other places) this might be a way to evaluate impairment. We will continue to follow this with interest as more states legalize marijuana.