• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Subscribe to the Magazine
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Editor’s Picks
    • The power of teamwork
      Stay awake and alert on the job
      The worst rank in law enforcement
      Firearms maintenance
      Why fries need salt
  • Topics
    • On the Job
      • Georgia officer pushes stranded woman’s car to gas station
        Washington police K-9 retires after nearly a decade of service
        “An emotional encounter”: Connecticut police officer talks a man...
        California police officer uses K-9’s leash to rescue drowning man
        Small town North Carolina police officer rescues man from house fire
    • Labor
      • South Dakota Police Department offers $5,000 hiring bonuses to boost...
        Sioux Falls Police Department offers $5K hiring bonuses to boost...
        San Francisco mulls over increasing police recruitment bonuses to...
        Nevada may soon allow noncitizens to become police officers to...
        Florida pays out $5M in hiring bonuses for more than one thousand...
    • Tech
      • NYPD iconic police cruisers get high-tech makeover
        NYPD warns of police attacks after Apple AirTag device was found on...
        Airbnb expands law enforcement portal to fight child trafficking
        West Virginia law enforcement agencies use drones to get a...
        FBI seizes website of notorious ransomware gang in cybercrime...
    • Training
      • Pennsylvania police utilize VR for de-escalation training
        Running your patrol rifle like a champion
        Present ability, opportunity and apparent intent
        Defensive tactics
        Mechanics, consistency and aggression
    • Policy
      • Atlanta’s “Cop City” training center project approved despite...
        Arkansas sheriff’s offices refuse to enforce federal ATF gun policy
        President Biden signs bill expanding national missing persons database
        California Highway Patrol spotlights new traffic laws for 2023
        Texas law enforcement leaders say the state has too many police...
    • Health/Wellness
      • Retired Wisconsin police officer offers mental health services for...
        Coping with internal investigation or legal action
        The value of data: Wellness through the eyes of officers
        What officers love, hope and worry about
        Don’t be “that guy” — get moving
    • Community
      • Washington’s King County sets record for fentanyl overdose deaths...
        Brotherly love: Police officer donates kidney to deputy sibling
        North Charleston police officer drafted by professional football team
        “I’m very, very blessed”: Cleveland police officer back on...
        Newark good Samaritan honored for assisting wounded officers
    • Offbeat
      • Pig crosses path with law enforcement in Virginia
        Texas police find cute dog behind the wheel in reckless driving...
        Drunk-driving suspect performs backflip for Ohio police during...
        “Like a scene from ‘Home Alone’”: Georgia man slips on ice...
        “Some real sitcom stuff there”: Florida burglars call 9-1-1 for...
    • We Remember
      • “I had a calling”: Colorado cadet inspired by fallen hero Eric...
        Chicago police remember fallen and injured officers this holiday...
        Deputy killed by roommate after he “jokingly” pulled trigger of...
        Maryland’s oldest cold case solved
        At least 13 officers shot in five days as wave of violence sweeps...
  • On the Job
    • Georgia officer pushes stranded woman’s car to gas station
      Washington police K-9 retires after nearly a decade of service
      “An emotional encounter”: Connecticut police officer talks a man...
      California police officer uses K-9’s leash to rescue drowning man
      Small town North Carolina police officer rescues man from house fire
  • Labor
    • South Dakota Police Department offers $5,000 hiring bonuses to boost...
      Sioux Falls Police Department offers $5K hiring bonuses to boost...
      San Francisco mulls over increasing police recruitment bonuses to...
      Nevada may soon allow noncitizens to become police officers to...
      Florida pays out $5M in hiring bonuses for more than one thousand...
  • Tech
    • NYPD iconic police cruisers get high-tech makeover
      NYPD warns of police attacks after Apple AirTag device was found on...
      Airbnb expands law enforcement portal to fight child trafficking
      West Virginia law enforcement agencies use drones to get a...
      FBI seizes website of notorious ransomware gang in cybercrime...
  • Training
    • Pennsylvania police utilize VR for de-escalation training
      Running your patrol rifle like a champion
      Present ability, opportunity and apparent intent
      Defensive tactics
      Mechanics, consistency and aggression
  • Policy
    • Atlanta’s “Cop City” training center project approved despite...
      Arkansas sheriff’s offices refuse to enforce federal ATF gun policy
      President Biden signs bill expanding national missing persons database
      California Highway Patrol spotlights new traffic laws for 2023
      Texas law enforcement leaders say the state has too many police...
  • Health/Wellness
    • Retired Wisconsin police officer offers mental health services for...
      Coping with internal investigation or legal action
      The value of data: Wellness through the eyes of officers
      What officers love, hope and worry about
      Don’t be “that guy” — get moving
  • Community
    • Washington’s King County sets record for fentanyl overdose deaths...
      Brotherly love: Police officer donates kidney to deputy sibling
      North Charleston police officer drafted by professional football team
      “I’m very, very blessed”: Cleveland police officer back on...
      Newark good Samaritan honored for assisting wounded officers
  • Offbeat
    • Pig crosses path with law enforcement in Virginia
      Texas police find cute dog behind the wheel in reckless driving...
      Drunk-driving suspect performs backflip for Ohio police during...
      “Like a scene from ‘Home Alone’”: Georgia man slips on ice...
      “Some real sitcom stuff there”: Florida burglars call 9-1-1 for...
  • We Remember
    • “I had a calling”: Colorado cadet inspired by fallen hero Eric...
      Chicago police remember fallen and injured officers this holiday...
      Deputy killed by roommate after he “jokingly” pulled trigger of...
      Maryland’s oldest cold case solved
      At least 13 officers shot in five days as wave of violence sweeps...
  • Between the Lines
    • Persecution of the LEO is Classic Schadenfreude
      The Rule of Law is Worthless Without Order
      School policing: a paradox of the defund movement
      Defending the honor of the LE profession – finally!
      The dichotomy of the defund movement: reality setting in
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Search

Policy

New Jersey Supreme Court weighs in on police marijuana impairment tests

APB Team Published May 17, 2022 @ 12:00 pm PDT

iStock.com/kali9

A New Jersey Supreme Court case will soon decide how police conduct marijuana impairment tests.

The case, State v. Olenowski, regards the protocols used by Drug Recognition Experts (DREs), who are trained in conducting marijuana sobriety tests. According to court documents, defendant Michael Olenowski was charged with driving while intoxicated and related offenses. Through an appeal process, the case eventually passed to the state Supreme Court, where the Office of the Public Defender argued on the basis of an expert witness that evidence submitted by DREs was not admissible in the case and challenged the validity of the methods DREs use to detect drug impairment, especially among drivers suspected to be under the influence of cannabis.

Voters opted to legalize adult recreational use of marijuana in the Garden State in 2020, and commercial sales began in April 2022.

Experts say the court case could have multiple ramifications for law enforcement. “We are waiting to see what is going to happen with that case,” Cannabis Regulatory Commissioner Krista Nash told NJ.com. “We don’t want to write rules and then have a court case settled be in conflict.”

Marijuana is known to affect driving skills by decreasing coordination and reaction time. Currently, however, no real-time technology exists that enables officers to pinpoint the exact threshold at which a user is too impaired to drive. For instance, cannabis breathalyzers can only detect recent cannabis use, but cannot establish whether a driver is actually impaired. Instead, officers have relied on 12-step sobriety tests administered by DREs.

“New Jersey has long taken a proactive approach to impaired driving, which historically accounts for about a quarter of all of our traffic fatalities,” Lisa Coryell of the Attorney General’s Office stated. “We have embraced the DRE program as an effective tool in addressing drug-related impaired driving.”

The state’s new cannabis law made provisions for agencies to receive funding to add more DREs to their force. The court case’s decision could impact that funding and how they assess levels of intoxication in traffic stops.

According to former DRE instructor Nick Morrow, the tests rely on a selective methodology and fail to take into account a person’s baseline performance —assessing impairment by testing whether a person can stand on one foot, for instance, without knowing whether they can even do that under normal circumstances. He even said that many of his officers would fail the tests themselves while sober.

While some are experimenting with newer impairment measurement tests, such as a phone app called DRUID, larger studies still need to be conducted.

“At no point did the DRUID study subjects attempt to drive an actual or a simulated car (as has been done in other, better studies), so there’s no way to know whether any of the DRUID study’s subjects were impaired to the point of being unsafe drivers,” Rutgers law professor William McNichol said.

Thomas Shea, program director for the police graduate studies program at Seton Hall and a former police officer, said he does not believe that cannabis plays a role in most car accidents compared with other drugs and alcohol.

“I don’t think I ever responded to an accident where someone was high on pot, but I responded to a bunch of people who were high on other drugs and alcohol,” he said. “Honestly, I just don’t see a mass increase in driving under the influence in marijuana arrests.”

However, it remains to be seen whether the legalization of marijuana in the state will lead to an increase in impaired driving and vehicle accidents, and how the court’s decision could affect police methods of enforcing road safety.

Categories: Policy Tags: traffic stop, legal, DUI, weed impairment test, State v. Olenowski, Drug Recognition Expert, sobriety test, Supreme court, New Jersey, marijuana

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • Atlanta’s “Cop City” training center project approved despite activist opposition
  • Pig crosses path with law enforcement in Virginia
  • NYPD iconic police cruisers get high-tech makeover
  • Georgia officer pushes stranded woman’s car to gas station
  • Washington’s King County sets record for fentanyl overdose deaths in 2022; morgue running out of space for bodies
  • NYPD warns of police attacks after Apple AirTag device was found on marked patrol vehicle
  • South Dakota Police Department offers $5,000 hiring bonuses to boost recruiting and diversity
  • Washington police K-9 retires after nearly a decade of service
  • Brotherly love: Police officer donates kidney to deputy sibling
  • Texas police find cute dog behind the wheel in reckless driving incident at Walmart

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

The power of teamwork

The power of teamwork

July 23, 2021

Stay awake and alert on the job

Stay awake and alert on the job

July 20, 2021

The worst rank in law enforcement

The worst rank in law enforcement

July 19, 2021

Firearms maintenance

Firearms maintenance

July 04, 2021

Privacy Policy | Copyright © 2023 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.