Three years after the state legalized recreational cannabis, law enforcement agencies are still trying to figure out the best way to determine if someone is driving high.

A new bill is proposing that drivers suspected of being under the influence would have to give a blood sample to police without the officer first having to obtain a warrant, something that's required under federal law.

And that's got both cannabis and civil liberties experts worried.

Melissa Rose Cooper reports.

It strikes me as a solution in search of a problem and by that matter, not such a great solution.

Jay Sabin expressing his concerns over a recently introduced bill that would require drivers in New Jersey to provide police with a blood sample if they're suspected of driving under the influence of marijuana.

Last November, our highest court decided that police officers who are trained in the topic of drug recognition impairment can testify and have that testimony admitted into evidence about someone's impairment while they're operating a motor vehicle.

So under New Jersey law, there is no reason to have blood testing.

The proposed legislation comes three years after recreational marijuana became legal in the Garden State.

The science confirms that blood testing does not result in any kind of conclusions regarding impairment.

And there have been numerous studies issued by National Institutes of Health Studies that have been published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, which unequivocally find that blood testing does not present any evidence of impairment.

Experts say using a blood test alone to determine if someone is impaired would be challenging.

Research suggests and surveys suggest that of the people who use THC, maybe half of them use it on a regular basis.

For these individuals, the level of THC in their blood can remain detectable and elevated beyond the three nanograms per milliliter, which was identified as a proposed demarcation of impairment in the New Jersey legislation.

The elevation above that in people who use THC on a regular basis can be many hours longer.

And in some cases one or two days longer.

Well after the acute psychoactive effects dissipate.

There also concerns the proposed legislation would unfairly target people of color.

We know already that that people of color, particularly black people, are disproportionately stopped in this state, even for for things where they're violating the law at the same rate as anybody else.

Right.

So whether we're talking about speeding or things like that, we've had we've had years and years of data to confirm that.

If we now say not only are you going to be subject to the indignity and the inconvenience of a police stop, but we're going to authorize those same police officers to mandate that they stick a needle in your arm.

That's really increasing the stakes of what we know to be disproportionate contact with police.

We reached out to Senator Shirley Turner, who is sponsoring the bill for comment and are waiting for a response.

And while critics agree, drivers under the influence shouldn't be behind the wheel, they say more research needs to be done to figure out the best way to make a proper assessment.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Melissa Rose Cooper.