Cannabis is the most frequently detected drug in many epidemiological studies on drugs and driving in Europe: 10% (median of 10 studies) of injured drivers and 7.6% of killed drivers are positive. The possibility of detecting cannabis in breath would greatly simplify controls in drivers, both for epidemiological studies and law enforcement. Only a few studies (all performed in the seventies and eighties) on cannabis in breath exist. Many studies were hampered by problems with the analytical technique. One wonders whether new detection techniques could increase the detection time. In order to have a sensitive and reliable detection of cannabis in breath, several aspects will have to be resolved: choice of the target molecule, sampling and enrichment method, avoidance of contamination by ambient air, sensitivity of detection, both for screening and confirmation.
Abstract