The DRUID App to Test Impairment--Abstract The objective of this Fast Track proposal is to demonstrate proof of concept and efficacy of a portable cognitive/behavioral assessment tool (the DRUID app) that measures impairment from cannabis, alcohol or other sources. This device will be available for use by military to assess mission readiness and training limits, for workplaces and transportation systems to assess worker impairment, to assist doctors in monitoring the functional health of patients, and eventually for law enforcement in cases of suspected impaired driving. The rapidly expanding legalization of medical and recreational cannabis around the U.S. has highlighted the need for an effective device to detect cannabis-impaired driving, as the Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST) is not sensitive enough to cannabis impairment (Bosker et al., 2012). While a number of cannabis breathalyzer devices are now under development, none of them actually measure impairment. Multiple letters of support from law enforcement indicate their interest in the potential use of DRUID. Additionally, drug testing is widely used in industry and manufacturing, but research shows pre-hiring drug tests are ineffective in reducing accidents and absenteeism. Jacklin Steel Company in Michigan has expressed interest in implementing DRUID in their steel mill. DRUID is a cognitive/behavioral assessment tool that measures actual impairment, providing a complement to devices that can establish recent use of cannabis. DRUID uses divided attention tasks and measures reaction time, decision making, hand-eye coordination, time estimation and balance, and then integrates these measurements into an overall impairment score. The Phase I subcontract research study to be conducted at Johns Hopkins in Dr. Ryan Vandrey Behavioral Pharmacology Lab will administer a placebo, low THC and high THC to participants through oral and inhaled routes of administration and observe the cognitive effects with SFST measures. These participants will also do DRUID. The Phase II subcontract research will also be conducted at Johns Hopkins in Dr. Ryan Vandrey?s Lab, testing DRUID in a dosage-controlled cannabis administration study in parallel with performance in a state-of-the-at simulator. The combination of military, medical, manufacturing/industrial/transportation and law enforcement markets will ensure a speedy commercialization of the DRUID app. Multiple letters of support are included with this proposal, including from business development professionals, industry and law enforcement officials. These letters document their interest in using DRUID. Letters of Support are also included from DRUIDapp?s new CEO and CTO, neuroscientist Dr. Nestor; from the DRUIDapp Advisory Board with extensive business experience; from multiple cannabis researchers indicating their interest in DRUID; and from a clinical psychologist who indicates the value of DRUID for his clients struggling with addiction.
This proposal is a response to the rapidly growing legalization of cannabis in the U.S. that raises the potential of increased levels of impairment at dangerous workplaces and driving. The proposed study is to test and validate an app called DRUID (?DRiving Under the Influence of Drugs?) for the iPad/iPhone/Android that measures impairment from cannabis, alcohol or other sources using measures of reaction time, decision making, hand-eye coordination, time estimation and balance under conditions of divided attention in a series of four tasks. Research participants in Phase I will be administered cannabis or not and then they will have their impairment assessed by Standard Field Sobriety Test measures and with DRUID; in Phase II of the proposal, individuals will be administered cannabis under controlled conditions, and impairment will be assessed using DRUID and a driving simulator.
