Smart Camera Tells Tobacco From Marijuana

An anonymous reader writes "A new smart camera technology not only takes a picture but also assays chemical composition, allowing photographers to tell whether that hand-rolled cigarette contains tobacco or marijuana. Designed to speed industrial inspection systems — such as detecting whether food is spoiled — the new smart camera includes spectral filters that make images of corn fields appear differently from hemp. Spectral cameras have been available for decades, but this microchip version should be cheap enough for almost any application."

Wonderful

[vinehair]

I'm sure we can all get behind this fantastic use of technology that will further the demonisation of a plant.

Re:Wonderful

[r1348]

Sure, and how else are they supposed to keep us distracted from real problems?

Re:Police will be ordering this soon

[betterunixthanunix]

I am more concerned about them increasing the number of helicopter patrols. Where I live now, the state sends out helicopters to look for cannabis plants, then indiscriminately arrests anyone who has a cannabis plant on their property. We recently had someone in my county arrested and convicted of cultivating marijuana because the patrol spotted feral hemp on his property.

Tickets are one thing, but when you have a paramilitary force prepared to arrest or kill anyone over these plants, you are dealing with tyranny.

Re:Police will be ordering this soon

[CanHasDIY]

I am more concerned about them increasing the number of helicopter patrols. Where I live now, the state sends out helicopters to look for cannabis plants, then indiscriminately arrests anyone who has a cannabis plant on their property.

What's the ROI on that, you think?

Re:For a "technology" website

[Stormwatch]

No. Irrational laws do.

Re:Police will be ordering this soon

[Eponymous Hero]

ROI is excellent considering you can confiscate property and money with a low likelihood of it ever being returned. also, agents get to shoot your pets, which they never miss an opportunity to do no matter how small or harmless they are. it's tough enough to find a justified reason to shoot the gun that's been burning a hole in your holster even with the protection of your badge.

Re:Police will be ordering this soon

[ShooterNeo]

Doesn't work this way. When they find the plants on the property of the official with the government connections, they won't arrest anyone and the local prosecutor will quietly decline to file charges. Nor will they do any civil forfeitures.

And when they find the exact same plants on the property of the hispanic/black guy's property, or that redneck fellow who has already had a few run ins with the law, that's when they slam on the cuffs and knock the suspect around a bit. And charge him with a crime, and take his property.

It will never even occur to the government officials doing this that what they are doing is hippo-critical. After all, they "know" the black/hispanic/white trash guy must be guilty of something, even if not this particular thing. And they "know" that judge or police chief is innocent or a good guy that deserves a break, even if the pot garden looks deliberately cultivated.

Some facts

[Charliemopps]

The Burden of Tobacco Use

Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States. Each year, an estimated 443,000 people die prematurely from smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke, and another 8.6 million live with a serious illness caused by smoking. Despite these risks, approximately 46.6 million U.S. adults smoke cigarettes. Smokeless tobacco, cigars, and pipes also have deadly consequences, including lung, larynx, esophageal, and oral cancers.
http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/aag/osh.htm

I tried to find the article they had on deaths caused by marijuana, but they don't have one. Lucky we've got this new fancy new camera to make sure the American people are smoking the right stuff.