Drug-detecting laser gun being tested by Bay Area law enforcement agencies [Video]

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. – A laser gun that can identify illegal drugs up to six feet away in seconds is being called a “game changer” when it comes to keeping officers safe and fighting the opioid crisis.

The Pendar X10 and other similar pieces of technology are being tested in Pinellas County.

Kirk Grates, a research project manager for forensic chemistry at FIU’s Largo campus, helps train officers in the Pendar X10, and those other similar pieces of technology that all work to identify illicit drugs.

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“It actually provides the officers with the capability of identifying about 7,400 different chemical compounds, using that device at a standoff distance, anywhere from a foot to six and a half feet away,” Grates said about the Pendar X10.

Grates and others at FIU helped develop the pilot program with police agencies across the country. …