News and Press

USDTL synthetic cannabinoid urine test stems from increasing illicit use

DES PLAINES, Ill. (April 18, 2011) – Due to recent growing client requests, United States Drug Testing Laboratories (USDTL) released a new urine assay for synthetic cannabinoids commonly known as “Spice” or “K2” for commercial use on Monday.  The new assay detects the metabolites of the controlled compounds JWH-018 and JWH-073.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) scheduled five synthetic cannabinoids into the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in early 2011.  Synthetic cannabinoids generally appear sprayed on plant material and are smoked like marijuana.  Although they have similar properties to THC in marijuana, synthetic cannabinoids are more potent than THC in their psychoactive properties, as found in animal studies. 

According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, synthetic cannabinoid use has resulted in over 3,000 calls to United States poison centers since 2010.  As of February 10, 2011, the number of calls had already reached almost 500.  According to the DEA, individuals who have smoked synthetic cannabinoids have experienced extreme psychotic episodes, agitation, anxiety, vomiting, elevated blood pressure, seizures, hallucinations and non-responsiveness.

Users typically choose synthetic cannabinoids over marijuana attempting to evade detection through standard urine screens, since only a handful of drug testing laboratories currently test for synthetic cannabinoids.

The synthetic cannabinoid assay is now part of our extensive UrineStat^® customized drug panels.  Initial screening takes up to two days in the laboratory and up to an additional two days for confirmation of presumptive positives. Although the literature has not fully described the parameters of the assay, USDTL expects it will act similarly to marijuana, providing a drug history of up to five days.

USDTL has been a leader in the drug testing industry since 1991 through research and assay development. The laboratory performs more research than other laboratories 10 times its size. USDTL has made significant breakthroughs in the field of analytical toxicology by developing procedures to diagnose newborns for prenatal drug exposure using meconium and umbilical cord tissue and to provide long-term workplace and rehabilitation monitoring effectively using hair and nail specimens. To find out more, please visit www.usdtl.com.

Contact:

Heather Sliwinski, Marketing Communications Manager

Heather.sliwinski@usdtl.com

(847) 375-0770

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