Traffic stop drug testing can soon be reality for Ohio drivers

CLEVELAND (WJW) – Cracking down on motorists driving high, Ohio State Highway Patrol made more than 3,300 drug-impaired driving arrests between 2022 and 2023.

Now that recreational marijuana is legal in Ohio, state lawmakers have concerns.

“When a police officer pulls someone over, because they suspect that they’re under the influence, you don’t know what they’re under the influence of,” Democratic State Representative Sean Brennan.

Brennan, whose district includes Parma, is a co-sponsor of House Bill 230, which would allow state, county and local law enforcement officers to perform new, fast-result drug tests in the field.

“If it’s cannabis, that’s one thing and we’ve got to work on that because you shouldn’t be under the influence of anything when you’re driving,” Brennan said.

While the bill does have bipartisan support, one lawmaker from Northeast Ohio is speaking out against it, saying Ohio needs to focus more on the root causes of drug abuse in the state.

“You cannot arrest your way out of the war on drugs,” said State Representative Juanita Brent from Cleveland. “Since the inception of Senate Bill 1 in 2018 — one of Ohio’s many attempts at the war on drugs — Ohio has focused more on criminalizing drug possession instead of focusing on the root causes. Ohio needs low barrier treatment, physical and mental healthcare when unemployed, culturally competent community-based messaging, job training and education. If these are not priorities, then we are in a place of insanity by doing the same things and expecting different results.”

In response, Rep. Brennan said, “the state has invested millions of dollars to get to the root of the problem and we can walk and chew gum at the same time.”

“The Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association, the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police and Ohio Patrol are working together on this,” said Cuyahoga County Sheriff Harold Pretel.

Pretel went on to say having saliva testing technology would be a game changer.

“If it’s a 10-minute test time, that will certainly expedite things. Not that we couldn’t move to do a field sobriety or any other tests, but that would be a great initial thing to determine should we go forward and take initial action or we can release the individual and clear the scene quickly.”

It’s still not clear how traffic stop drug testing would be funded if signed into law.

House Bill 230 has already passed 80-to-13 in the house and is now in the hands of the Senate to vote.

The bill would also increase penalties for organized drug trafficking and designate the month of August as Fentanyl Poisoning Awareness Month.

Governor Mike DeWine has reportedly said he will sign the bill into law if it reaches his desk.

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