As marijuana becomes legalized and decriminalized in the United States, understanding the effects of marijuana usage is important for staying safe while operating a motor vehicle or heavy machinery.

In 2016, more than 1 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. Drugs other than alcohol, both legal and illegal, involve nearly 16% of motor vehicle crashes. Marijuana users are specifically 25% more likely to be involved in a crash than drivers with no evidence of marijuana use.

While under the influence of marijuana, eyes will feature one, if not all, of the following:

• Involuntary twitching
• Slow reaction time
• Enlarged blood vessels
• Dilated pupils

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Any of these features can increase the potential of an accident. With EyeGage technology, individuals and companies can analyze an individual’s eyes before operating a vehicle or heavy equipment. Our mobile application takes a picture and video of the eye, classifies features such as the pupil and iris, and then computes its measurements. The technology then identifies any drugs or alcohol in your system - including marijuana.

This technology, found in EyeGage’s easy-to-use application, allows for contactless, non-invasive, objective/unbiased, secure, accurate, quick results that doesn’t require a clinical lab to analyze data. This helps individuals know their impairment status and alerts them of potential danger they could be in if they choose to drive under the influence.

With application features including Should I Drive, that provides a recommendation to call an Uber/Lyft based on the data collected, and FriendGage, that allows someone to confidentially share EyeGage information with a close friend or family member to ensure their safety, remaining safe during consumption can easily be top of mind.

In addition to downloading the EyeGage app to monitor potential marijuana impairment, remember these tips when consuming, both smoking and eating, marijuana to keep yourself and others safe:

1. Consult a medical doctor to understand dosage and side effects.
2. Know and understand the laws involving marijuana in your state and local jurisdictions.
3. Take the correct dosage and be aware of any side effects.
4. Purchase marijuana from a dispensary to ensure quality, quantity, and elimination of laced marijuana.
5. Be prepared with food and water that side effects could cause.

Interested in being involved in a case study and want to learn more about in application features, visit our Research page for more information.