Drugs and drug use are seemingly a constant in the news. There are efforts to further decriminalize pot on hand. See Dopey (May 2024). There is also a persistence in press mischaracterization of those efforts with focus on the word "legal." See Edibles and Illness (November 2023) and the posts cited there. It is intriguing to see people face workplace consequences, even job loss, as a result of using dope they erroneously think is "legal." There are legal complexities there that challenge analysis.
In one recent story, NBC News reports a woman was pulled over in Minnesota. That state has "decriminalized" drug paraphernalia. The legislature there apparently sees possession of such tools as a non-issue in the drug pandemic we face. The Centers for Disease Control noted recently that drug death seems to have leveled off for the final tally in 2022. That may come as some relief after years of increasing numbers. And there is some interesting shift between age groups described in that Centers post.
That said, over 107,000 people in this country died of overdose in 2022, according to the National Institute of Health. That is more deaths each year than the total of Americans killed in the Vietnam Conflict. In fact, our drug death rate is approaching an annual total that is double that of the entire decade spent in that debacle of the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon years.
Back in Minnesota, a visitor from North Dakota was arrested with a drug-use tool called a "bong." That device is among the paraphernalia that the state's legislature recently decriminalized. It is OK in Minnesota to have the tools. However, the water contained in that device "tested positive for methamphetamine." There was a residue, essentially, and that meth residue was sufficient for her arrest. In Minnesota, "bong water (is) a controlled substance."
This is intriguing from the standpoint of methamphetamine. The news is not clamoring with efforts to decriminalize that substance, not yet anyway. In time, there will be efforts mounted to decriminalize a variety of substances and meth is a likely candidate. The simple fact is that drugs are popular and therefore populist. People like drugs and the users are making great progress with their persistent efforts to facilitate easier and more ready access to drugs.
Nonetheless, the Minnesota visitor faces "up to 30 years in prison, a fine of no more than $1 million, or both" for that bong water. I can hear the advocates now: "but water is legal." Thirty years? I am no advocate for drug use, but that is a long time in jail for some dirty water.
What does the story have to do with pot? The Minnesotans have largely decriminalized pot. The residue in the bong was not weed. And yet . . .. The Minnesota visitor was in a traffic stop. The police might never have found the bong or the water ("might") had they not detected the particular and distinctive aroma of dope during their traffic stop.
Dope, like alcohol, remains a problem for drivers. The reasonable suspicion or "probable cause" that stems from smelling weed allowed the police to search the vehicle, find the bong, test for the residue, and seize that "bong water." It is an intriguing outcome. It might have been the same if they had smelled alcohol. That is interesting as our society and tech evolve.
Technology may increasingly play a role in our safety. I noted Safety is Coming (March 2022) "like it, want it, or not." In the fog of the "other pandemic" (COVID-19), Congress decided that all cars sold in America will soon include passive impairment detectors. More law on the topic came in 2023, and there is a rush underway to put this technology on the streets. according to Motor Trend, Big brother (1984, Orwell, 1949) is coming to a vehicle near you very soon, perhaps in 2026.
These devices will disable the vehicle of any driver that Big Brother decides is impaired. Don't mistake that, I am no fan of impaired drivers. But, I am nonetheless not always a fan of the technology I find on various vehicles I rent either. There are many "features" that simply do not enhance my driving experience and they are difficult to avoid, disable, or manage. Tech is trendy and cool but can also be a real challenge.
When some driver's vehicle stops operating at the side (hopefully the side) of the road, there will be some who conclude that such vehicle status signals impairment. In the coming age of the Big Brother car, being on the roadside may itself become the probable cause for the authorities to search the vehicle for bong water or whatever else they find interesting.
In truth, the interaction a stranded motorist has with authorities today could lead to suspicions, testing, and conclusions of impairment. However, in the many miles I drive, it seems to be increasingly rare to see any officials stop to aid stranded motorists (there is no interaction). I have watched many a deputy, trooper, and officer cruise past people in trouble on the road.
They are seemingly uninterested in people having trouble. Will they be more attentive in the coming age of smart cars and drug searches? Will residue and water continue to be worthy of arrest and prosecution in the increasingly drug-tollerant society of the U.S.? Does it make sense to criminalize water in a jurisdiction that looks the other way for actual drugs and tools to use them?
How will such devices become involved in the workplace? Certainly, a great many workers' compensation accidents each year involve vehicles. As this new technology becomes prevalent in passenger cars, it will almost certainly become common in larger commercial vehicles. Will there be privacy concerns? Will that be limited to drivers, or might commercial settings involve detectors for all vehicle occupants?
What data will be collected? Most drivers likely do not realize that many cars already have data recorders in them. Some claim as many as 96% of new cars have them. They record brief moments surrounding collisions but are not currently recording audio, visual, or other details throughout a trip (like the aircraft tool). But with the advent of new impairment monitoring, might that potential come to pass in commercial vehicles on the highway and in the warehouse?
How much data will be stored? If your car refuses to start due to a suspicion of impairment, might the car phone home and report it? Might insurance companies be interested in the data? Is there a potential for expansion of the current efforts of some insurance companies to entice sharing driving data in exchange for rate discounts?
It is likely inevitable that artificial intelligence comes into the analysis of all of these potentials. That tool is a springboard for data collection and analysis. Robots may replace drivers in the workplace completely. If not, robots and AI may certainly impact and facilitate management of the employees who are not replaced by technology.
Things, as they say, get curiouser and curiouser. The world is changing. The workplace will be impacted. The work, workers, and management will have much to digest and understand.
