Cops Who Claim They Know When Drivers Are Stoned
Reason magazine|January 2018

Even when blood tests say they’re not

Jacob Sullum
Cops Who Claim They Know When Drivers Are Stoned

TO THE UNTRAINED eye, Katelyn Ebnerseems completely sober in the 28-minute dashcam video of her 2016 encounter with a Georgia cop. But Cobb County police officer Tracy Carroll, who has pulled the 23-year-old waitress over for failing to maintain her lane as she made a left turn, perceives “numerous indicators” that Ebner is under the influence of marijuana.

Ebner repeatedly assures Carroll she doesn’t “smoke weed” or “do any of that stuff” and volunteers to prove it by taking a drug test. “You’re going to jail, ma’am,” he replies. “I don’t have a magical drug test that I can give you right now.”

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