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Philips Develops Roadside Drug-Testing Device
Al writes "A handheld developed by Philips for law enforcement detects traces of cocaine, heroin, cannabis, and methamphetamine in 90 seconds. The system uses magnetic nanoparticles attached to ligands that bind to traces of these drugs. Once saliva has been placed inside the device, an electromagnet mixes the sample and the nanoparticles. Frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR) — the same phenomenon that underlies fingerprint scanners and multitouch screens — is then used to measure a change to the refractive index. By immobilizing different drug molecules on different parts of a sensor surface, the analyzer is able to identify traces of each different drug. An electronic screen displays instructions and a simple color-coded readout of the results."
the mezca freaks.....
all over again
NO SIG
Thus spoke every addict since the begining of time,no offence dude
boldly going nowhere
Could I give it up if I wanted to? Absolutely, and I have when I needed to but now is not that time.
Riiiight!
full of, are
-old yoda hippie
What kind of a moron are you?
You've sat outside the bars (where people get rip roaring drunk, in addition to the folks who are just "legally drunk") and gathered stats on how many really ripped drivers they actually toss into the clink *in addition to* those who are merely impaired?
Just because you happen to see some drunk doesn't mean that policing *known* points of origin is a waste of time. There are plenty of other cops out patrolling and doing other police-related activities. I would also point out that just because drunk drivers still get into wrecks and kill folks doesn't mean that what is being done isn't effective, it just isn't enough to combat everything.
While you, personally, seem to feel that blowing over a 0.08 isn't drunk, there are plenty of folks who feel it is... and it's the law. The key? Don't drink and drive if you don't want to go to jail.
Of course, therein lies the problem. The penalties for DUI, DUI coupled with an accident, and DUI coupled with Vehicular Manslaughter are simply not severe enough. "Oh I was drunk" is not an excuse for taking someone's life... ever. That person knew they were drinking, knew they were driving, and knew what the possible outcome was. To me, that's no different than walking up to some random person and shooting them in the head with a gun. Toss 'em in jail and throw away the key... or under the jail works for me too.
Driving should be a privilege. If you can't follow the rules, you shouldn't be allowed to do it. And before you make your lame-ass argument of "everyone breaks laws every day", we're not talking about driving 5 mph over the speed limit, we're talking about causing physical harm or death to another person.