“The Navy needs to partner with companies like Hound Labs to ensure its commands have the right tools to make on-scene assessments of individuals’ condition.”

“Hound Labs says it develops tools and technologies to offer ‘solutions for some of the leading public health and safety issues’ surrounding cannabis, including breathalyzers.”

“Cannabis only causes impairment for a few hours after smoking. But traces of THC can stay in the body in varying amounts for many days or even weeks after a person last used cannabis. Although THC does not cause impairment for days or weeks after use, past use can still trigger a positive drug test. In the era of cannabis legalization, it is important to understand ‘when’ someone used cannabis, not just ‘if.'”

“In many states, employees have the legal right to use recreational cannabis,” Lynn says. “Someone could smoke at a barbecue on a Saturday, and risk testing positive [for THC in their blood] on Monday morning.” And their urine and hair would test positive for weeks.”

“For the first few hours after you light up or eat an edible, a breathalyzer can detect the THC that is transferred from the bloodstream and into the lungs — just like alcohol.”

“A lot of our non-regulated fleet employers are having to make hard decisions about either eliminating marijuana from their drug-free testing program or eliminating drug testing altogether just to get candidates through the door”

“‘The difference with the test and the reason why it’s groundbreaking, is it has a window of detection that lasts only a few hours,’ said Doug Boxer, the company’s chief of policy and strategic initiatives.”

“As more states legalize marijuana use, employers, providers and legislators grapple with the interplay between legal use, impairment and safety risks at work. The drug testing programs that employers have historically used as an effective deterrence and detection tool are no longer useful when addressing marijuana.”

“Having a device that can distinguish recent marijuana use will help police officers determine the right course of action and will make users more careful when ingesting THC and getting behind the wheel.”

“Dr. Lynn said the purpose of the device is to ‘Maintain safety while recognizing the right to legally use marijuana.'”

“Hound Labs created the COVID-19 breathalyzer based on the same exquisitely sensitive technology platform that we use for the HOUND® CANNABIS BREATHALYZER,” said Dr. Mike Lynn, the CEO of Hound Labs.”

“Hound Labs’ solution is a key method to help both employees and companies maintain safety in all areas of the supply chain. Companies now have an accurate way to determine whether or not employees recently used marijuana prior to coming to the job site.”