Drug Sniffing Car Knows Where Your Drugs Are

by Odyssey House Of Utah Addiction Recovery Specialist

In an amazing, accidental discovery, scientists have created a device able to pinpoint exactly where a person’s stash of drugs is located in his or her car with incredible accuracy. If this technology becomes available to law enforcement, it may reduce the incidents of substance abuse substantially.

The device was originally created to detect roadway pollution for scientific and environmental purposes. The machine works like a miniaturized mass spectrometer, scanning particles in the air and matching them to known substances. The device is mounted in a car so it can be easily transported and used wherever the scans need to be performed. This would allow scientist to understand what chemicals are in the air and what are producing them, therefore stopping pollution at its source. Scientists in Texas, where the device was created quickly realized that the device could be used for so much more.

The help to law enforcement aside, the legal ramifications to this device are already being brought into question. Though substance abuse is admittedly a worldwide crisis, some feel that the ability for police to know every substance in a person’s car without permission is a violation of their basic rights. This is akin to the airport scanner controversy several years ago where airport patrons complained of having their image taken with such preciseness that they felt their intimate parts were exposed to the public.

The counter argument is that the device could be used to save valuable time for law enforcement by quickly determining if a vehicle or person has illegal substances that they intend to abuse, without having to tear apart every inch of the vehicle or perform uncomfortable searches. The device could also be used in searching homes and businesses for dangerous drug labs, or for evidence if a drug lab was at one time in the home thus creating a dangerous living condition for anyone who moved in afterwards.

Joe Meyere is a health writer for Fusion 360, an SEO and content marketing agency. Information provided by Odyssey House. Follow on Twitter.