The way people are using drugs, both prescription and illicit worldwide is changing. Prescription medications that affect focus, reaction time, or mood are more widely used, and they frequently overlap with recreational substances. Poly-drug use has moved from marginal into everyday life. It surfaces in commutes, late shifts, social events, and family routines, often without the clear signals that once defined impairment. Movies and popular shows often celebrate the use of these substances while at work or commuting. Businesses have been left behind in their ways of adapting to this paradigm shift in drug use by employees. The Society for Human Resources (SHRM) has written a significant amount of material from articles to best practices on how businesses can deal with these changes. The reality is, all the available options either require invasive procedures, lengthy wait times at a lab, and even longer wait times for the results of those tests.
Epinal Inc. is building its Narcolyzer platform in response to this significant, more complex reality. Rather than relying on blood draws, putting a cotton swab in someone’s mouth or urine collection, Epinal is developing a handheld multi-drug breathalyzer designed to screen for several categories of narcotics through a single breath. The idea is simple, people and institutions need a clearer way to understand impairment in the moment, not days later. By simply having a person breath into the single use cartridge, the Narcolyzer gives rapid results in the hand of the administrator of the test showing what is being metabolized in the body right then. The concept of a person claiming to have used the substance a week ago will no longer be an issue. The science in Narcoylyzer works on the bodies active metabolism through the molecules in the lungs.
Everyday Behavior and Invisible Risk
Many of the risks that concern policymakers and families today do not begin with illicit street drugs. They begin with legitimate prescriptions, shared medications, or the assumption that a small dose of one substance will not interact with another. A person who feels safe driving after taking a prescribed sedative and a legal cannabis product may not see themselves as impaired. Yet small shifts in attention, coordination, and judgment can translate into serious consequences on the road or in the workplace.
Traditional testing frameworks grew out of a different era. They were designed to confirm the presence of a narrow range of substances, often long after an event. Lab-based toxicology remains important for detailed analysis, but it does not help a parent considering whether to hand over the car keys, a supervisor deciding if a worker is fit for duty, or a paramedic trying to understand why a patient is behaving outside of their norms.
Narcolyzer is being developed to give those moments more definition. The platform uses bio-inspired sensors that mimic natural molecular recognition systems, along with artificial intelligence that interprets biochemical signals in breath. The device’s removable, one-time use cartridge is designed to detect multiple classes of drugs, including opiates, cocaine, THC and THC A, benzodiazepines, MDMA, methamphetamine, and their derivatives. This is not a diagnostic tool, rather an early screening device to help aid in the next steps for a person. For employers, Narcolyzer gives them peace of mind to know if their employee should be sent to a lab for further more detailed testing. For EMS personnel, it gives them clarity on what life saving measures to start pursuing sooner rather than later.
Cultural Turn Toward Real-Time Awareness
Epinal’s work sits within a larger cultural turn toward real-time awareness. People track their sleep, steps, heart rate, and mood through personal devices, yet understanding the impact of substances often remains guesswork. For institutions, the gap is even more pronounced. Schools, employers, treatment providers, and public safety agencies are being asked to respond to more complex patterns of drug use with tools that were designed for simpler times.
To address this, Epinal is preparing field trials with various States within the U.S. These efforts focus on environments where fast information can change outcomes, including emergency medical services, hospital systems, and substance use treatment programs. Results from those field trials will drive the growth of the models within the proprietary artificial intelligence platform Epinal has designed. This growth within the machine learning framework will advance the pattern recognition and selectivity of the system.
The company positions Narcolyzer as part of a broader mission to make the world safer one breath test at a time. That phrase captures a shift in emphasis from punitive toward prevention. A handheld, non-invasive tool can help identify when someone may be at risk of harming themselves or others because of narcotic impairment. It can also serve as a prompt for conversation, support, or treatment, rather than only as evidence in a disciplinary process.
For many observers, the significance of Epinal’s work lies in how it reframes responsibility. Instead of placing the burden entirely on personal judgment, it introduces a practical way to bring objective information into situations that are often emotionally charged. Families gain another option when they are worried about a loved one. Organizations gain a method for aligning safety obligations with respect for individual dignity.
Readers who want to understand Epinal’s technology can review the company’s public WeFunder campaign.
Spencer Hulse
Spencer Hulse is the Editorial Director for Grit Daily Group. He works alongside members of the platform’s Leadership Network and covers numerous segments of the news.
