Rapid roadside drug testing could soon happen during OVI stops in Ohio

Rapid roadside drug testing could be a new way for law enforcement to stop impaired drivers in Ohio.

This is all part of a bill working its way through the statehouse and cosponsored by local lawmakers, including State Rep. Bernie Willis, whose district includes Springfield.

As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, lawmakers say this part of the bill is about keeping you and your family safer on the road.

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While medical and recreational marijuana is now legal in Ohio, it is still against the law to drive under the influence of marijuana.

There are still concerns from law enforcement that legal recreational marijuana in Ohio will mean more drug-related OVIs.

In the last two years, state troopers in Ohio have made more than 3,000 drug-impaired driving arrests. In 2022 and 2023, hundreds of those were for marijuana-impaired arrests. Hundreds more were arrests where the drivers had a combination of pot and another drug in their system.

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Former Montgomery County Sheriff and State Rep. Phil Plummer is one of the co-sponsors of a new bill. It would allow law enforcement to collect saliva samples from drivers suspected of drug impairment during traffic stops. It’d be similar to a breathalyzer for alcohol-related OVIs.

“You know, just like they do with people who’ve had too much to drink. And there’s still a lot of people that still drink and drive and have been arrested,” said Elynor McFarland, from Springfield.

Plummer says it would be much quicker than what law enforcement uses now for drug impairment testing for suspected impaired drivers.

“Usually they do either urine or blood (tests for the suspected impaired driver). Then you got to send it to a lab and wait months to get the results back. This can be immediately. Test your saliva. To be able to say, you’re over the limit,” Plummer said.

This bill passed the Ohio House with a bi-partisan vote of 80-13 in April. Right now, it’s in committee in the Ohio Senate.

We will continue updating this story.