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Launch HN: SannTek (YC S19) – Breathalyzer for Cannabis

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Re: Launch HN: SannTek (YC S19) – Breathalyzer for Cannabis

#341

Post by roguecoder »

hotelsinger wrote: post #42

A given level of THC affects some a lot more than others. There are people who feel extremely "high" with 20 milligrams, and others who feel nothing. I do not believe you have a solution to this problem. The only thing a police officer should be permitted to do is give a field sobriety test. These devices are going to create more problems than they solve.

Field sobriety tests are far worse than something objective like this. If a cop has it in for you, you are going to fail the sobriety test regardless of how impaired you actually are.

Re: Launch HN: SannTek (YC S19) – Breathalyzer for Cannabis

#343

Post by michaelmrose »

SannTek wrote: post #285
neuralzen wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I admire what you're doing, and hope you can adhere to scientific integrity while developing and selling your product, but that simply isn't true. At least in Washington state. A few years ago Washington State purchased a whole bunch of Draeger 9510 (alcohol breathalyzer) units without ever having tested them. After two years of sitting unused, the warranties were going to expire and they finally got around to testin…

Thanks for the info. Definitely something we have not run into or considered yet. I guess we just naively assumed that all police precincts were as scrupulous as those we talked to :(. There is some stuff we can do, however. For instance, we can directly build the QC schedule into the device so it does not work unless you get it calibrated. We can also have QC cartridges that have a barcode that the device reads to m…

Everyone says they are ethical including the unethical I'm not sure how you possibly took this at face value.

Re: Launch HN: SannTek (YC S19) – Breathalyzer for Cannabis

#344

Post by cookie_monsta »

I had no idea this was such a polemic topic. Police have been doing roadside saliva-swab tests for cannabis, ecstasy and meth where I live for years now

https://adf.org.au/insights/roadside-drug-testing/

Is it because it's a breathalyser?

My personal feeling is that lumping those three drugs in together (along with alcohol) is a blunt approach (which admittedly is often what the law favours) - I'd much rather be sharing the road with a bunch of stoners than meth heads or boozers, but the tendency here is towards zero tolerance for all impaired driving, regardless of the substance

Re: Launch HN: SannTek (YC S19) – Breathalyzer for Cannabis

#345

Post by michaelmrose »

If we are after impairment why don't we measure reaction time and motor skills?

Alchol breathalyzers are orders of magnitude easier are broadly recognized as unscientific garbage.

It would be remarkable if your research led to anything but another tool to ruin peoples lives.

It will likely be weaponized to attack groups the police dislike like minorities.

In short I think the world would be a better place if you stayed in bed.

Re: Launch HN: SannTek (YC S19) – Breathalyzer for Cannabis

#347

Post by michaelmrose »

cookie_monsta wrote: post #344

I had no idea this was such a polemic topic. Police have been doing roadside saliva-swab tests for cannabis, ecstasy and meth where I live for years now https://adf.org.au/insights/roadside-drug-testing/ Is it because it's a breathalyser? My personal feeling is that lumping those three drugs in together (along with alcohol) is a blunt approach (which admittedly is often what the law favours) - I'd much rather be shar…

It's a problem if it measures use instead of impairment especially where use is legal even more so if use is medical.

You'd find it pretty stupid if a breathalyzer sunk your life where you had a beer yesterday or 2 oz of beer 30 minutes ago.

Re: Launch HN: SannTek (YC S19) – Breathalyzer for Cannabis

#348

Post by michaelmrose »

ehnto wrote: post #201
vngzs wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even alcohol breathalyzers are regularly miscalibrated or defective and found to produce false positives. Legal pressure from manufacturers keeps this quiet. https://www.zdnet.com/article/draeger-breathalyzer-breath-te...

That is why many states follow a positive breathalyzer test with a blood test. In my state, you can refuse them both, but you lose your license temporarily for doing so. I think that's fair. I understand some are skeptical about giving blood to the police, but if you can't prove you're not drunk or high after a positive reading on a less accurate device, then you aren't allowed on the road. The risk is too great for…

If the device is wildly inaccurate why would you be obliged to prove your innocence barring other evidence of impairment.

Re: Launch HN: SannTek (YC S19) – Breathalyzer for Cannabis

#349

Post by michaelmrose »

chadash wrote: post #31

I don't understand the negativity in many of the comments here. I'm all for legalization of marijuana, but I actually think that the inability to test for people driving high is a very reasonable argument against legalization. I generally feel that people should be able to make their own choices, but not if those choices involve driving a 3000 pound piece of metal down the highway while impaired. Yes, we need to be c…

The human race is a bunch of bumbling morons half of which are also bad people.

For any new human endeavor which could negatively impact my life in any way I start with the assumption that whatever measure is undertaken will do nothing to address the actual problem AND whatever can possibly go wrong will.

From there I'm willing from there to be convinced that the people are uncommonly capable and ethical in theory.

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