SJC decides field sobriety tests not scientific evidence for pot
Decision limits conclusions officers can draw from roadside tests
BOSTON — Police
officers looking for impaired drivers will need to operate under new
limits imposed by a new ruling from Massachusetts’ highest court.
The Supreme Judicial Court ruling, published Tuesday, concludes that field sobriety tests cannot be used to determine if a driver is intoxicated by marijuana. It does not affect the use of the tests for drivers who may be impaired by alcohol consumption.
“(Field Sobriety Tests) have no probative value beyond alcohol intoxication,” the SJC wrote.
Possession and consumption of marijuana is legal for adults over the age of 21 in Massachusetts, but it is a criminal offense to drive while under the influence of the drug.
This new ruling does not prevent officers from administering the roadside tests to suspected high drivers, but does limit the conclusions that can be presented to the court as a result. Officers will be allowed to testify about the driver’s performance, but not whether they passed or failed the tests.
The ruling also imposed a similar limitation on any witnesses who have not been declared “experts” by a court.
“Because the effects of marijuana may vary greatly from one individual to another, and those effects are as yet not commonly known, neither a police officer nor a lay witness who has not been qualified as an expert may offer an opinion as to whether a driver was under the influence of marijuana,” the SJC wrote.
The justices wrote that the tests – like the "horizontal gaze nystagmus test," the "walk and turn test" and the "one leg stand test” – were designed to detect alcohol impairment. Studies have had mixed results when applying the tests to marijuana intoxication, the SJC wrote.
“While not all researchers agree, a significant amount of research has shown that consumption of marijuana can impair the ability to drive,” the SJC wrote. “There is ongoing disagreement among scientists, however, as to whether the FSTs are indicative of marijuana impairment.”
The justices said there is currently no reliable, scientific test for marijuana impairment.
The Supreme Judicial Court ruling, published Tuesday, concludes that field sobriety tests cannot be used to determine if a driver is intoxicated by marijuana. It does not affect the use of the tests for drivers who may be impaired by alcohol consumption.
Possession and consumption of marijuana is legal for adults over the age of 21 in Massachusetts, but it is a criminal offense to drive while under the influence of the drug.
This new ruling does not prevent officers from administering the roadside tests to suspected high drivers, but does limit the conclusions that can be presented to the court as a result. Officers will be allowed to testify about the driver’s performance, but not whether they passed or failed the tests.
The ruling also imposed a similar limitation on any witnesses who have not been declared “experts” by a court.
“Because the effects of marijuana may vary greatly from one individual to another, and those effects are as yet not commonly known, neither a police officer nor a lay witness who has not been qualified as an expert may offer an opinion as to whether a driver was under the influence of marijuana,” the SJC wrote.
The justices wrote that the tests – like the "horizontal gaze nystagmus test," the "walk and turn test" and the "one leg stand test” – were designed to detect alcohol impairment. Studies have had mixed results when applying the tests to marijuana intoxication, the SJC wrote.
“While not all researchers agree, a significant amount of research has shown that consumption of marijuana can impair the ability to drive,” the SJC wrote. “There is ongoing disagreement among scientists, however, as to whether the FSTs are indicative of marijuana impairment.”
The justices said there is currently no reliable, scientific test for marijuana impairment.
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