PATENTED “WEED BREATHALYZER” COULD MAKE BILLIONS FOR CALIFORNIA COMPANY AS MORE STATES LEGALIZE THE USE OF MARIJUANA

Hound Labs, an Oakland, California company that was founded in 2014, has invented a breathalyzer machine that can detect recent use of marijuana by a person that may indicate that the person is impaired. With several states having already legalized or de-criminalized recreational use of marijuana, such a device would make our highways and roads safer by finding and punishing people who drive under the influence of marijuana in the same way as those who operate under the influence of alcohol. The availability of such a device may also lead to the rapid legalization of marijuana throughout the country.

The handheld device detects the presence of marijuana in a person’s lungs. Its operation is simple – for two minutes a person breathes into the handheld device, which is reportedly a billion times more sensitive than an alcohol breathalyzer. The breath that the handheld device collects in a cartridge is loaded into another machine for analysis. After about ten minutes, the machine will tell you whether there is marijuana in a person’s breath that would suggest that they have used marijuana recently. Testing the breath appears to be a far better indicator of whether someone is “high”, as it tests whether someone has used marijuana in the past two or three hours – the time that correlates with the greatest level of impairment. The device is also capable of detecting vaped or ingested cannabis.

Hound Labs has reportedly raised $65 million and has already secured nine U.S. Patents on its invention, with at least two more applications pending. The “weed breathalyzer” was recently featured in Newsweek and on The Today Show, where it was mentioned several times that the device will be expensive. But with law enforcement looking for better ways to keep the streets safe from impaired drivers, it’s a good bet that many will invest in the devices as marijuana use increases due to legalization. Assuming Hound Labs was able to secure relatively broad protection for the invention with its patents, it could be the sole supplier of “weed breathalyzers” to police departments across the country for the next 20 years! What a great example of how to use intellectual property to make money and grow a business while also providing a needed and valuable service to the community!

Do you have the next billion dollar idea? If so, you should consult with an attorney who specializes in intellectual property protection early in the process and develop a strategy to best protect your idea and business. We help clients do just that all the time. Contact us to see how we can help you.