Please, for all of us, make sure your test set contains a wide diversity of people - doing this testing on recruits from a local college or among friends would make it very easy to bias your results for accuracy on particular populations. it's critical that your device be equally accurate on tall people, short people, white people, black people, men, women, thin, fat, and people with various illnesses or other disorders that may affect either THC metabolism or produce abnormal breath results (e.g., excess ketones in the breath for a diabetic). and don't just listen to some random person on the internet for this, find a pro.
Launch HN: SannTek (YC S19) – Breathalyzer for Cannabis
351–360 of 421 posts
Re: Launch HN: SannTek (YC S19) – Breathalyzer for Cannabis
#352Great job to the founders, awesome to see more cool companies out of the UW nano program. Curious why all the negativity, perhaps people are unaware that cannabis actively DOES impair driving to dangerous levels. Also, as this startup is from Canada I'm almost certain the mindframe of the founders is to develop a device that makes legalization EASIER, not allowing police to use it catch and arrest people on the stree…
Do you have any proof that cannabis impairs driving?
I don't even understand how this is a question in anyone's mind.
Re: Launch HN: SannTek (YC S19) – Breathalyzer for Cannabis
#353So many naysayers here, many of which probably aren't sharing the road with cannabis consuming drivers in a region where it is 100% legal like here in Canada. I've consumed it many times, and I know how impaired I'd be behind the wheel. It terrifies me to think of all the idiots who are probably out there driving while stoned, pretending they're "perfectly fine." EDIT: cool, these guys are around the corner from wher…
Clever how you use the phrase these guys to underscore your belief that what they're doing is a good thing. I, on the other hand, agree with the other commenter that "it sounds like a terrible world honestly", and I have a negative view of this startup. I would probably something formal to describe the people working there, just like I would people working at Elsevier.
I would compare it ethically to working for or investing in the private prison industry.
Re: Launch HN: SannTek (YC S19) – Breathalyzer for Cannabis
#354It is documented that white & black Americans consume roughly cannabis at roughly the rate, yet black Americans are 3.73x more likely to be arrested for it (figure from the ACLU). How is this device not going to contribute to that disparity?
So should no one attempt to make a device that detects this because some police are racist? I doubt American racism is at the top of minds of a Canadian startup trying to help with their nation's recent legalization of cannabis, even though they will definitely want to sell to the US market.
Re: Launch HN: SannTek (YC S19) – Breathalyzer for Cannabis
#355I 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.
That's how alcohol breathalysers work here - if it looks like you're over the legal limit you get a second, more sophisticated test.
If you're way over whatever limit they decide for THC then it shouldn't matter if you have a prescription - a medical need doesn't make you a better driver while under the influence.
But I agree with what you're saying - it's not the tool that is problematic here, but the laws that go around it. A beer yesterday seems OK. Driving tipsy is generally accepted (except in Oz in the case of novice/probationary drivers) but considering the high correlation between alcohol and driving impairment, I think it's more a testament to the alcohol lobby's strength that even a little drink driving is considered reasonable. Drinking alcohol is/should be a recreational activity, not a human right.
Re: Launch HN: SannTek (YC S19) – Breathalyzer for Cannabis
#356Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
maybe we should put some thought into how we can make sure the police use it properly. This times a million. Do not just make the device accurate, make sure it is very hard for a motivated individual to trick it into being inaccurate, in either direction. Please excuse the terminology, was learned from very elderly engineers, but above foolproof (stupidity), there is twatproof (deliberate misuse) and cuntproof (educa…
reading HN as a woman is an exercise in managing fury
Re: Launch HN: SannTek (YC S19) – Breathalyzer for Cannabis
#357Are we even sure this is a problem? There seems to be no consensus on the impact of driving on THC [0]. THC has neurocognitive impacts, but those tend to be small and long lasting. It would be strange to tell users they can't drive for 30 days or longer. [0] https://amp.theguardian.com/society/2019/apr/26/driving-whil...
It's not a problem, it's a business opportunity. Imagine being a sole manufacturer of a device every cop will be carrying... Many successful companies are making human lives miserable anyway, this is simply one more.
Re: Launch HN: SannTek (YC S19) – Breathalyzer for Cannabis
#358Earlier quoted context omitted.
maybe we should put some thought into how we can make sure the police use it properly. This times a million. Do not just make the device accurate, make sure it is very hard for a motivated individual to trick it into being inaccurate, in either direction. Please excuse the terminology, was learned from very elderly engineers, but above foolproof (stupidity), there is twatproof (deliberate misuse) and cuntproof (educa…
reading HN as a woman is an exercise in managing fury
[deleted]
Re: Launch HN: SannTek (YC S19) – Breathalyzer for Cannabis
#359>we're imagining a world where there are one of our devices in every police car in North America. Sounds like a terrible world honestly.
Why do you think it's good to let drugged people drive cars?
I think we need a device that will make testing people for coffee consumption easier. It has been shown caffeine negatively affects you driving ability.
Re: Launch HN: SannTek (YC S19) – Breathalyzer for Cannabis
#360Shouldn't you need to prove that cannabis inhibits your driving first?
That will be done after round B funding, rest assured.