Law enforcement keeps coming up with new and "fool-proof" ways to test a drunk driving suspect for alcohol and drugs, most of which never pan out. An example in yesterday's news:
State Law Enforcement to Test Saliva for Drugs
Ft. Smith, AK. July 21 — Arkansas law enforcement may now test a person’s saliva to determine if they are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The law was passed in March and went into effect July 17.
Lieutenant Allan Marx with the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Department was a driving force behind the changing law. He said before the Arkansas DWI law changed, officers could test a person’s blood, urine and breath.
Marx said while working a case last year, he learned about saliva testing and recognized a need for it in Arkansas.
“If there’s ever a new way, a new tool that we can use to help not only law enforcement but help the public and the safety of the people out there, it needs to be used,” said Marx. “I believe this product is going to save lives.”…
Due to the infancy of the new law, Marx said the admissibility of the tests have not yet been tried in court. However, he said the tests have been used for years in the hiring process.
“Obviously it’s a brand new law, and that will come into effect,” said Marx. “But there should not be any opposition whatsoever…”
It's touching that Lt. Marx's efforts to get the saliva test adopted for law enforcement were motivated by a desire to "help the public and the safety of the people out there". Oh, by the way…the following is from Lieutenant Marx's own website, GotchaDWI.com:
Marx has become a distributor of an oral saliva drug test called OralTox, created by Premier Biotech. Marx created a website,www.gotchadwi.com, to sell the test kit…
Hmmmm….Strange that there was no mention in the news story about Lt. Marx, "the driving force behind the changing law", having a financial interest in the saliva test.
(Thanks to "Joe".)
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