New marijuana drug test on the horizon

A new drug test is set to hit the market in 2020.

It functions similarly to the alcohol breathalyser, measuring marijuana impairment instead.

Once it goes live, employers will have another way to maintain compliance with the federal drug and disability laws.

Dr. Carmey Wiley, president of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, says that it is difficult to check for marijuana impairment because detectable levels can be found in urine and other bodily fluids for up to 30 days after use.

The body’s metabolism is a factor affecting the duration.

As such, a marijuana breathalyser would be a gamechanger for employers who want to test for marijuana use on the job.

The recent research suggests that it has reached a 14-year high, becoming the most commonly detected illicit substance among employees.

Despite this, until now, there was no mutually-agreed blood level of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that would signal impairment.

Also, only six of the states have established a legal THC driving limit, and these vary.

In August, a team of researchers from Swanson School of Engineering announced they are developing a marijuana breathalyser that will shake up the field.

A prototype is already available.

It works based on using an optical reader to identify the levels of THC in the breath.

It can be used for determining whether an individual was using marijuana in the past couple of hours.