UC Berkeley Chemist Matt Francis has spent the last year and a half looking for pot, looking for it someplace no one has ever found it before – in someone’s user’s breath.

Hound Labs have come up with a unique breath test that can detect both alcohol and marijuana by analyzing the user’s exhalation. Unlike other detection methods, the breath test can detect marijuana even if the user has smoked it recently. This is important because the metabolites of marijuana remain in the body for an extended period, which makes it challenging to determine if someone has ingested marijuana or smoked it recently.

The breath test could be beneficial in determining whether marijuana for seizures can be an effective treatment option. According to Francis, the metabolites of THC can stay in the body for days or even a month, making it impossible to know when someone recently consumed marijuana.

KTXL reports that while Dr. Francis has worked on the problem for a year and a half, Dr. Mike Lynn, the CEO of Hound Labs has been working on this for much longer.

“We have tremendous interest from not only law enforcement, employers, who are struggling with this problem, but also the cannabis industry who knows you can’t be driving stoned. Everybody really accepts that,” Lynn said.

Lynn argues the breathalyzer will be the best defense for legal pot users who aren’t stoned at the time they are driving, but get pulled over anyway.

Source: ABC New