The Laurel County Sheriff's Office has a new tool to help crack down on drug-related crashes and traffic stops.The agency is one of 81 in Kentucky equipped with a SoToxa, a handheld device that allows deputies to test for drug u se on the spot with a quick oral swab.It's part of a nationwide pilot program to use the SoToxa device for roadside drug testing.Until recently, if deputies suspected drugs during a traffic stop, a driver had to be taken elsewhere for a blood test. Now, the SoToxa can detect drugs like methamphetamine, opioids, or THC right at the scene in just five minutes."So this person I arrested had fentanyl... meth... mixed with ecstasy," Deputy Zach Strong said. The device comes courtesy of the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety in hopes of improving impaired driving enforcement."We already have PBT, Pre-Breath Tests, that test for alcohol, and we're finding that a lot of our traffic stops and a lot of our traffic crashes are a suspected person under the influence. Oftentimes, instead of it being alcohol, it's some other type of drug," said Public Affairs Deputy Gilbert Acciardo.Deputies say the tool has already proven its worth. On Wednesday night, they arrested 51-year-old Arvis Presely, Jr. at a traffic safety checkpoint. A SoToxa test showed he was under the influence, and deputies found suspected meth and a glass pipe in his car."Unfortunately, in this area, our biggest drug that causes most concern is methamphetamine. We're finding that very frequently, and very frequently in traffic stops and very frequently in traffic crashes where an impaired driver is involved," said Acciardo.The Laurel County Sheriff's Office says the devices are helping them continue to keep impaired drivers off the road. ...read more read less