Minnesota could soon become the first state to equip every police department with mobile roadside drug-testing tools, after a statewide pilot showed strong accuracy in detecting impaired drivers.
The Office of Traffic Safety tested two portable oral-fluid devices—the Abbott SoToxa™ and Dräger DrugTest 5000—across 41 law enforcement agencies from January through August 2024.
These handheld machines, which act like breathalyzers but for drugs, screen saliva for marijuana, meth, cocaine, amphetamines, opioids, and benzodiazepines.
Unlike alcohol, drug impairment lacks a quick roadside measure. That gap has long forced officers to rely on judgment, arrest drivers, then wait for court-approved blood tests.
The new devices aim to change that equation. The state’s results? For most substances, roadside tests matched lab-confirmed blood tests over 80 percent of the time.
Officials aren’t fazed by weaker results with benzodiazepines—a known challenge in saliva testing due to how the body metabolizes them.
“The technology works,” said Office of Traffic Safety Director Mike Hanson. “If we can save one life by deploying these things, it is absolutely worth every penny.”
Each device costs roughly $5,000, with an additional $25 per test. The state is now asking lawmakers to greenlight funding for a full deployment.
Officer Parker Stevens from Fairmont PD knows the current process all too well. “If someone’s impaired by meth or THC, we arrest, apply for a warrant, and haul them to the ER for a blood draw,” he said. “A lot of time, paperwork, and waiting.”
Since Minnesota legalized marijuana, Stevens said two trends have emerged: stronger odors in pulled-over vehicles and a spike in marijuana-impaired driving among drivers aged 18 to 24. “It’s become easy to access, and we’re seeing the consequences on the road,” he said.
Probable cause, especially in cannabis cases, is harder to pin down. A recent Minnesota Supreme Court ruling means the smell of marijuana alone no longer qualifies as legal grounds to search or arrest.
That has left law enforcement walking a legal tightrope, relying heavily on field sobriety tests and observed driving behavior.
For Stevens, tools like SoToxa™ offer not just clarity but confidence. “If we had something in our pocket to back us up, that’d be awesome,” he said. “I wish we had it already.”
Whether the legislature agrees remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: Minnesota is ready to test the future of roadside safety—one swab at a time.
You May Also Like: Massive Drug Bust in Finger Lakes Yields Thousands of LSD Tabs, Cocaine, and More
