U.S. OKS TEST FOR DETECTING MARIJUANA IN HAIR

WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - A new test that detects marijuana's active
ingredient in human hair has won clearance from the US Food and Drug
Administration (news - web sites) (FDA), the test's manufacturer, Cambridge,
Massachusetts-based Psychemedics Corp., said on Monday.

Psychemedics is a publicly traded testing laboratory, whose clients include
more than 2,200 corporations, as well as five of the nation's largest police
departments and a number of schools and Federal Reserve (news - web sites)
banks, the company said.

"Psychemedics is the only company to have any FDA-cleared hair test and we
now have them in all the major drugs of abuse categories," noted CEO Ray
Kubacki in a statement. Previously, the firm obtained US clearances to
market tests for opiates, PCP, cocaine and methamphetamine/ecstasy.

Psychemedics Senior Vice President William Thistle told Reuters Health that
the laboratory has been performing a "home brew" version of the test for the
last 12 to 14 years, but that the FDA clearance is expected to increase
acceptance of the product.

He said the hair test is more effective than present FDA-approved urine
tests, allowing for the detection of drugs used within a 3-month window,
compared with the 3-day window for urine tests.

Thistle said other advantages include the ability to keep the individual
being tested under surveillance while the sample is taken, minimizing the
risk of sample contamination or switching.