The National Post reports in its Tuesday, April 23, edition that the federal government has taken the first step toward approving a new device for testing drivers' saliva for cannabis use, potentially giving police a long-awaited second option. The Post's Brian Platt writes that over the weekend, the government posted a notice that it intends to approve the Abbott Sotoxa for police forces to use. The device must now go through a 30-day public consultation period before it can receive final approval. Abbott is an Illinois-based health-care company that acquired Alere -- a Massachusetts company that has long manufactured saliva-testing drug devices -- in a $5.3-billion transaction in 2017. It advertises the Sotoxa as a hand-held device that provides test results in less than five minutes. The approval process for the controversial devices, which allow police to swab saliva at the roadside to check for the presence of THC, has taken much longer than the government anticipated. The testing is overseen by a specialized committee of the Canadian Society of Forensic Science, which then makes a recommendation to the attorney general when it determines a device meets the government's established standards.