VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 07, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cannabix Technologies Inc. (CSE: BLO) (OTC PINK: BLOZF) (the “Company or Cannabix”) developer of marijuana breathalyzer devices for law enforcement and the workplace reports that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Warren County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney’s office to pilot the Company’s technology for detection of 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”) and in human breath. The Company’s proprietary breath capture and laboratory-based marijuana detection equipment (as described below) will be used to collect and confirm THC in breath samples. Cannabix plans to supply 2 handheld Breath Collection Units (BCU) to Warren police before the end of the year and such devices will be used in Warren County at the discretion of its police force for up to 3 months or longer. The Cannabix BCU can be used to collect time of stop breath samples immediately upon suspicion of cannabis use by a driver. Field Samples collected using the BCU by Warren police (and Drug Recognition Experts) will be processed at a designated laboratory using proprietary “MS Breath Sampler” hardware.
Warren County District Attorney Robert C. Greene, stated the following, “Marijuana use is here and has been for decades. Pennsylvania (PA) has legalized the medical use of marijuana and recreational adult use is right around the corner. Every state surrounding Pennsylvania has legalized medical marijuana and more importantly, Warren County borders the State of New York which has legalized recreational use. The goal is to keep Warren County citizens safe from impaired drivers.
Currently, in Pennsylvania, an individual cannot drive if there is ANY marijuana metabolite in their blood. Therefore, if an individual is completely sober, but legally used marijuana in the weeks prior to driving on PA roads, they are driving illegally according to PA law and can be arrested and charged with Driving Under the Influence, see 75 Pa.C.S.A.§3802(d)(1)(iii). And yes, this happens every day in Pennsylvania.
We are excited about the opportunity to work with Cannabix to assist in testing a breath test device that can detect if an individual has smoked marijuana in the past 2-3 hours. If this device is proven to be reliable in PA Courts, this could be a game changer in keeping our roads safer with new legislation and at the same time, not infringe on citizens’ rights who use marijuana legally and still want to be able to drive a vehicle. Warren County looks forward to working with Cannabix on the Pilot Program.”
Rav Mlait, CEO of Cannabix stated, “Cannabix’s collaboration with Warren County will help us in our efforts to gather critical real-world data using our technology and methods. The Warren County District Attorney’s office has an unwavering commitment to keeping its citizens safe as laws surrounding marijuana consumption evolve and we commend their leadership and participation in helping advance cutting-edge cannabis breath technology. We are seeking additional collaborators and welcome such interest.”
Current forms of testing for marijuana use can identify THC ranging from minutes to days after actual use, making it impossible to show the difference between the two. Studies¹ have shown that breath is a better indicator of impairment than saliva, blood, or urine because THC is present in breath for a relatively short period of time (1-3 hours) after consumption; whereas, it is excreted at detectable levels in other body fluids for many hours, days, or even weeks after smoking. This short time period of detection in breath aligns with the peak impairment window.
The Company’s handheld Breath Collection Unit (“BCU”, Fig. 1) and newly developed laboratory “MS Breath Sampler” (Fig. 2) are being used together to provide a new method for drug detection that complements gold-standard mass spectrometry (MS) and significantly simplifies laboratory analysis methods, reduces sample turnaround times (thus minimizing operating costs), while maintaining sensitive, precise results. It should be noted the BCU is also being used in concert with the Cannabix FAIMS Detection Unit (a separate device, under development, not part of this pilot, which is being developed as a portable system capable of both breath collection and analyses in the field).
The Cannabix BCU will provide quick and nonintrusive breath sample collection and easy analysis with no sample preparation needed in a lab setting using the Company’s “MS Breath Sampler” hardware. In comparison, existing and legacy breath and saliva testing procedures require several sample extraction and preparation steps prior to analysis, and analysis itself can take from 1 - 3 hours per sample. This is expensive and impractical. Also, existing and legacy breath and saliva testing procedures tend to have inefficient, time-consuming collection methods, and recoveries are still often poor. Cannabix has developed unique approaches to breath testing that will reduce costs and make operations and processes far more efficient.
Readers should note, although the Company has achieved proof of concept prototype for its BCU and MS Breath Sampler, the testing method and device is still in the preapproval stage and accordingly the Company is not currently making any express or implied claims that the technology will proceed to commercial use.
(1) Olla P, Ishraque MT, Bartol S. 2020. Evaluation of Breath and Plasma Tetrahydrocannabinol Concentration Trends Postcannabis Exposure in Medical Cannabis Patients. Cannabis and Cannabinoid Res.; 99-104.