It’s the start of a new festival season, as music lovers far and wide prepare for a summer full of multi-day events featuring some of their favorite artists and DJs, along with plenty of dancing. For many, the festival experience also involves consuming a variety of drugs to amp up the experience.

This year’s Drug Safety at Music Festivals study, conducted by research firm Innerbody, sheds additional light on the habits and plans of festival goers this year while also addressing some of the best ways for folks to stay safe should they decide to consume substances at these events.

The study uses survey data from 900 people and suggests that about 87% of festival attendees plan to take drugs, a 10% increase from last year’s figure. 

Examining Most Popular Festival Drugs, Genres and Events With Most Drug Use

The study focuses on a variety of topics surrounding drug use at music festivals, beginning with the most popular substances that festival goers plan to use during the upcoming season. 

Alcohol is always the top substance consumed at festivals, but the study did not include it and focused solely on drug usage. That said, cannabis takes the top slot by far, with 65.3% of festival goers who plan to use drugs saying they will consume cannabis. Authors note that the widespread legalization of recreational cannabis across the U.S. may make cannabis a less risky option for attendees. 

Cocaine was the second most popular choice (46.5%), followed by psychedelics (26.1%), MDMA (19.4%), ketamine (19.3%), amphetamines (13.7%), opioids (12.1%), benzodiazepines (10.1%), synthetic drugs like bath salts or spice (9.7%), hallucinogens like salvia or peyote (6.1%) and inhalants (6%).

Plans to use cocaine are up from last year’s numbers, though there was a 2% drop in the number of people who plan to use opioids — which authors noted as surprising given the continued opioid overdose epidemic though still “encouraging.”

The study found that rock, hip-hop and EDM are the genres most likely to have audience members under the influence of drugs, with Wisconsin’s Rock Fest claiming the top slot as the festival with the most anticipated drug use, according to survey participants. The weeklong Burning Man festival held in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert took the second slot, while Coachella was third place for most anticipated drug use.

Festival Drug Concealment, Consumption and Drug Testing Behaviors

The study also looked at drug concealment, consumption and testing behaviors among those planning to consume for festivals, finding that just 32.6% bring their own drugs with them to the event while the remaining 67.4% buy them at the festival. Last year’s results found that 46% planned to bring their own drugs to the events. Millennials were the most likely generation to buy drugs at the venue rather than purchasing them beforehand.

In regard to drug testing, a majority (80.3%) test their drugs before the event or festival, an increase from last year’s approximately 67% figure. 

“This increase in testing could be due to more awareness surrounding the U.S. opioid crisis and the public education efforts that have taken place,” authors note. “But while the data is encouraging, it still reflects the reality that 20% of festival goers could be taking potentially dangerous drugs at concerts.”

Concealing drugs in backpacks and pockets are the most common choices, and researchers also found that attendees tend to take drugs in one of three places with a fairly balanced distribution: the restroom (29%), within the crowd (31%) or outside the festival gates (33%).

Health Issues, Risky Behavior Harm Reduction and Festival Drug Use

Though authors indicate that the broader prevalence of drug testing is encouraging, the study notes that more than half of survey participants said they had experienced health-related issues that warranted medical attention while under the influence of drugs at festivals. The most common complications attendees experienced were heat stroke, a bad trip and dehydration. 

The survey also found that drug use tended to lead festival goers to engage in riskier behavior at the events, with 66% of both Gen Z and millennial respondents reporting they had done so while attending festivals under the influence. Engaging in sex with a stranger was one of the most prevalent examples, most prominent among millennials, while one in every four millennials also reported “driving dangerously” after a festival ended.

Authors note that abstaining and testing drugs before using them are some of the best harm reduction methods, though surveyed festival goers largely reported self-education about the drugs they were using, the risks and potential side effects as their go-to safety measure. The second-most common strategy was starting with a low dosage, followed by drug testing.

“Being aware of your surroundings, remaining close to your friends, keeping hydrated, and familiarizing yourself with the location of medical tents are also easy and practical ways to help stay safe at music festivals,” authors close.

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A new article published in the Federal Register in February, which prefaced a digital Drug Testing Advisory Board (DTAB) meeting that was held on March 5. The topic of the article and the meeting covered the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) drug testing panels and considered adding fentanyl, while also removing MDMA.

Section 8105 from the Fighting Opioid Abuse in Transportation Act (which is included in the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act) requires the Secretary to justify whether or not to include fentanyl or other Schedule I or II substances in the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs.

The focus on fentanyl is driven by the high number of overdose deaths in the U.S., as well as the fact that fentanyl can be used on its own and not paired with heroin or other substances. “According to the National Forensic Laboratory Information System (NFLIS) 2022 report, fentanyl was the third most frequently identified drug and accounted for 13.81% of all drugs reported by forensic laboratories,” the article stated.

According to the proposal, both fentanyl and norfentanyl (a metabolite of fentanyl) would be tested at 1 nanogram per milliliter of blood.

The article also mentioned removing MDA and MDMA from the list of drugs tested in the panel “because the number of positive specimens reported by HHS-certified laboratories does not support testing all specimens for MDA and MDMA in Federal workplace drug testing programs.”

The National Laboratory Certification Program (NLCP) shows that in 2021-2022, the positive rates of MDMA sat between 0.001%-0.003%, with less than 25% of “positive specimens are likely agency blind samples.”

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA), which manages the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention’s (CSAP) DTAB, also considered removing PCP from the drug testing panel. However, decided not to pursue that change. “While PCP has an overall positivity rate nearly as low as MDMA, there are regional differences in positivity, with some areas of the country having much higher rates, so PCP remains a regulated test analyte,” the article stated.

During the March 5 digital meeting, SAMHSA led a public presentation covering “Regulatory Program Updates and Mandatory Guidelines.” The goal of the meeting was to discuss a review of the current Federal Drug Testing Program, as well as the state of the Drug-Free Workplace Program.

The National Laboratory Certification Program (NLCP) also presented an analysis of the cost and benefits of testing for fentanyl and MDMA. The most prevalent substances tested by the NFLIS in 2022 according to most frequently identified drugs in seized drug exhibits, meth was ranked at number one, followed by cocaine at number two, fentanyl at three, cannabis/THC at four, heroin at five. The ranking substance skip slightly to oxycodone at seven, followed by amphetamine at 13, hydrocodone at 15, and finally MDMA at rank 19.

The NLCP also explained that fentanyl testing in urine samples costs $0.23 to $5.00 per specimen for initial testing and $8.00 to $25.00 per specimen for confirmation testing, while oral samples costs $0.80 to $1.00 per specimen for initial testing and $22.00 to $25.00 per specimen for confirmation testing. The total cost estimate to add fentanyl to the drug testing panel could cost anywhere between $ $9,139 to $192,850 per year.

However, removing MDMA from the panel would save an estimated $3,800 and $38,000 per year (based on initial testing between $0.10 to $1.00 per specimen, and confirmation testing between $8.00 to $25.00 per specimen). MDMA is ranked as the 19th most frequently identified drug, the NLCP said the cost was negligible.

The meeting also invited the public to submit comments regarding the proposed changes, with 115 commenters agreeing with the adding fentanyl to the drug panel and 20 agreed with the addition of norfentanyl. Only 3 disagreed with the addition of fentanyl, citing the expense, the fact that it’s a time consuming process, and also the ongoing truck driver shortages.

Many commenters supported removing MDMA and MDA because of the low positivity rate, and how the removal wouldn’t “affect workplace and public safety.” However, many commenters also disagreed with MDMA/MDA removal proposal, claiming that even with a low positivity rate “not testing for it could lead to higher abuse.”

SAMHSA provided a graph that showed the drug specimens reported between January 2013-December 2023. During the 10-year period, confirmed tests for 6-acetylmorphine (referred to as 6-am), PCP, and MDMA, all remained low.

These potential changes are not yet official, as the DTAB is set to review and publish responses to the public comments. After that, a federal review process will proceed, possibly with revisions, and eventually a formal federal register article will announce the finalization of the changes.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released a report that show year-end data from 2023 regarding the annual decrease of truck drivers. Overall, the number of truck drivers has decreased significantly every year since 2020, with the 2023 number sitting at 858,000. More truck drivers tested positive in drug tests in 2023 than ever before, and a high number of drivers refused to be screened in 2023 as well.

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It’s already fairly well known that music festivals tend to come with plenty of illicit drug use. The activity is so common at festivals, and in dance scenes as a whole, that organizers and attendees alike are becoming increasingly more equipped to combat potential overdoses through a variety of measures.

A new study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy underscores the impact of these harm reduction strategies and consciously incorporating them into events, looking at the amount of drug-related deaths at Australian music festivals, the common trends and what may have helped to prevent them.

Moreover, the researchers ultimately confirmed that mobile medical care, drug testing and increased consumer education and awareness could have prevented these largely unintentional deaths.

Examining Modern-Day, Drug-Related Deaths at Australian Festivals

Researchers note the high prevalence of drug use among festival attendees compared to the general population, citing a study finding that 44% of over 5,200 surveyed Australian music festival attendees reported past-month use of illicit drugs. That said, it’s no surprise that more instances of drug use often result in increased cases of drug-related harm.

To examine the prevalence of drug-related deaths at Australian music festivals, researchers conducted a descriptive case series study using the National Coronial Information System (NCIS) looking at relevant data between July 2000 and December 2019.

The study noted a total of 64 deaths, predominantly males (73.4%) aged in their mid-20s (ranging 15-50 years old). MDMA and alcohol were the most common substances across the study period, reported respectively in 42 (65.6%) and 30 (46.9%) cases and with alcohol co-detected with MDMA in 14 (33.3%) cases. 

Deaths were primarily associated with toxicity from MDMA and other stimulants (19 cases), toxicity from other drugs or drug combinations (11 cases) and either natural causes (10 cases) or external injuries (24 cases) in the setting of drug use, like those involving motor vehicle or train collisions or a passenger or driver using drugs. The majority of cases involved unintended harm, with 11 deaths (17.2%) related to intentional self-harm.

Drug-Related Harm Reduction at Music Festivals

So, what exactly are the ways to prevent a drug overdose at these events?

Authors note that there is limited evidence surrounding the efficacy of specific law enforcement-related approaches. While drug detection dogs have been utilized in Australian festivals for more than two decades, researchers note some research showing this can actually increase risk of drug-related harm. They also mention that this method may “paradoxically increase the risk of overdose,” with attendees potentially leading to festival goers hiding drugs internally or quickly consuming drugs to avoid arrest.

There’s drug checking and testing, which allows members of the public to analyze drugs to confirm if they contain any potentially dangerous or unexpected substances and how much of a substance is actually in a given powder, pill, tablet and so on. 

Researchers note the body of research finding that this option indeed demonstrates a reduction in drug use and related harm. Combating the notion that people may be more inclined to use drugs with the ability to test them, researchers cite a recent study finding that festival attendees are no more likely to use drugs at festivals whether drug testing is provided or not.

Music festivals also tend to have mobile paramedics, peer harm reduction workers, chill-out spaces and may even incorporate specific physical design elements to reduce the risk of drug-related harm.

Preventing Overdose Through Drug Testing and Other Measures

Authors note that in these 64 cases, the most common cause of death was MDMA toxicity. While there are a variety of factors associated with increased risk of adverse effects surrounding MDMA usage, researchers highlight the variability in dose amounts as a key factor. For this study, the average MDMA concentration among the deaths was above a range usually associated with toxicity, showing an opportunity for harm reduction by drug checking and testing.

“Drug checking is not merely an analytical process; counsellors are available on-site to discuss analytical results and provide important harm reduction interventions,” researchers write. “This approach is favoured by festival patrons and has resulted in positive outcomes including changing dosing patterns, trust of health providers, and increased drug harm reduction knowledge.”

However these services are still in their infancy in Australia, despite being available throughout Europe and North America for a number of decades.

“Harm reduction strategies such as roving first aid volunteers, mobile medical care, spaces to rest, hydration stations, and drug checking services, may best address some of the risks associated with illicit drug use at festivals, in addition to increased consumer education and awareness,” authors conclude. “It is important to understand the factors involved in these incidents in order to inform policies around harm reduction and law enforcement at music festivals in future to prevent further deaths.”

In an interview with online music magazine and community platform Resident Advisor, co-author Dr. Jennifer Schumann underscored the findings around harm reduction, citing that two in three Austalians support drug checking services along with recommendations from coroners throughout the region to implement these services.

“It’s possible that information about the drugs these people were taking, along with harm-reduction advice from drug-checking service counsellors, may have prevented death in some cases in our study,” Schumann said.

It’s a particularly relevant topic Down Under, with renewed calls for more safety measures after nine people were hospitalized in January from suspected MDMA overdoses at Melbourne’s Hardmission Festival.

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The Department of Justice has rescinded a DEA decision to fire a special agent who was let go due to a positive reading for CBD on a drug test.

DEA special agent Anthony L. Armour will be re-hired as a special agent and be reimbursed for back pay and legal expenses after a years-long court battle that stretches back to 2019 when a routine drug test showed he had been using CBD, which Armour maintained in court was for the purpose of treating chronic pain in lieu of highly-addictive opioid based painkillers.

“I’m excited to be getting back to work at DEA,” Armour said to The New York Times. “I hope to finish my career at DEA by helping its mission in taking dangerous drugs like fentanyl off the streets.”

Armour’s battle with chronic pain goes back to an injury he sustained during his college football career. He was also injured on the job as a DEA agent in a car crash during a surveillance operation, after which he suffered from back pain and a sprained neck. He ordered CBD products and a vaporizer from the internet, under the impression that he was not taking any illegal risks as the 2018 Farm Bill federally legalized hemp products. 

“For Armour and many others in this country, this change meant new opportunities—particularly as to CBD, a non-THC cannabinoid in the cannabis plant,” a portion of the lawsuit said. “Armour hoped CBD oils could play a role in his pain management. That he did is unsurprising. From Martha Stewart to Wrigley Field, CBD has become embedded in American culture.”

After he failed the drug test, Agent Armour turned the CBD products he had ordered into his superiors. Under federal law, hemp-derived products are defined as such if they contain less than 0.3% THC (please follow these handy-dandy little hyperlinks if you want more information on the clusterfuck of loopholes the Farm Bill created with regard to hemp-derived cannabis products). Of the three different hemp-based products Agent Armour turned in, court documents showed that two of them tested within the 0.3% THC range but one of them tested above the allowed threshold at 0.35%, which could be due to the notoriously unreliable potencies of hemp products and the methods by which they are tested.

The DEA even went so far as to double down on their decision years into the lawsuit in late August of 2023. They filed a court brief defending Agent Armour’s termination just days before the Department of Health and Human Services officially recommended the federal rescheduling of cannabis from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3. The DEA also issued an official notice to all DEA employees after Armour’s termination to avoid all CBD products despite their federally legal status.

“Mr. Armour was an outstanding DEA agent when he took a chance in 2019. He believed it was unlikely that CBD products would cause him to test positive for marijuana, but he knew it was possible, and he bought those unregulated products on the internet and consumed them anyway,” the DEA brief said. “Mr. Armour argues that he ‘displayed negligence or poor decision-making,’ and DEA properly held him accountable for his poor decisions when they resulted in a verified positive drug test. DEA lost trust in Mr. Armour and properly removed him.”

Despite a years-long fight to keep Agent Armour off the payroll the DEA has agreed to reinstate him and pay him $470,000 in back pay and legal fees, according to the New York Times who obtained a copy of the court filings from earlier this month. Agent Armour told the New York Times he still sees value in using CBD for pain management but that he will consult a medical professional for viable alternatives upon his return to work. 

“Federal drug testing policies—and importantly, attitudes about drug testing—have not caught up with the times. I’m not the only career law enforcement officer in this country with chronic pain, nor am I the only law enforcement officer that has turned to legal cannabis products to address pain,” Agent Armour said in court testimony in September. “Nobody should have to choose between suffering pain and serving our country.”

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The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)—the organization that administers intercollegiate athletics in the U.S.—is making drastic changes to its drug policy for cannabis.

Changes were announced at the 2024 NCAA Convention that took place on Jan. 10-13, in Phoenix, Arizona. NCAA Division I proposed ending the practice of drug testing athletes for cannabinoids. The NCAA released a news release on Jan. 10, announcing that Division I is proposing removing cannabis from its drug-testing policy and will be voting on implementing the change shortly.

The White Mountain Independent reports that during the NCAA Convention on Jan. 11, a group of panelists discussed the recent cannabinoid drug testing policy updates and what needs to be done in order to incorporate those changes. NCAA Division I leaders decided cannabis is not in fact a performance-enhancing drug and that the organization’s drug testing policy should focus on other drugs instead.

“Cannabis is not a performance-enhancing drug, and we determined that the drug testing conducted at NCAA championships should focus on substances that impact competitive outcomes,” said Pat Chun, athletics director at Washington State and chair of the Strategic Vision and Planning Committee. “To be clear, this does not mean that NCAA members condone or promote use of cannabinoids. However, rather than focus on testing and subsequently penalizing student-athletes who use cannabis, NCAA efforts should focus on a harm reduction strategy, similar to substances like alcohol.”

The three panelists are members of the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (CSMAS), which recommended in September 2023 that each NCAA division introduce and adopt legislation to remove cannabinoids from the association’s banned list.

In order for cannabis to be removed from the NCAA substance list, Divisions I, II, and III must introduce and adopt legislation.The CSMAS committee suggested that NCAA Divisions I, II, and III remove cannabinoids from the NCAA’s banned drug list. Beyond the obvious tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), this would also remove less common cannabinoids, including cannabidiol (CBD), cannabigerol (CBG), and cannabinol (CBN).

Division I programs offer the highest level of competition between the NCAA’s three divisions and is the hardest division to get into and compete in.

The recommendation dates back to a December 2022 Summit on Cannabinoids in College Athletics, which concluded that “the consensus opinion that cannabis is not a performance-enhancing drug and that a harm reduction approach to cannabis is best implemented at the school level,” the NCAA wrote in a June 16, 2023 news release.

In February 2022, CSMAS slowly recognized the need for change, raising the THC testing threshold from 35 to 150 nanograms per milliliter and proposing a new penalty structure that incorporated treatment and education plans.

“One of the things we know about college students specifically is that treatment and education strategies work better than penalties,” CSMAS member Nadine Mastroleo, an associate professor in the department of psychology and faculty athletics representative at New York’s Binghamton University. “The last piece of this is really testing within a campus or at the local level. That is the best approach to using and finding individuals who actually might have a problem and could really use some support to reduce their use and to recover from whatever problems they may be having from that.”

According to a 2023 NCAA Student-Athlete Health and Wellness Study, 43% of college athletes are using marijuana in states where it is legal for recreational and medical use.

“Harm-reduction interventions, meaning meeting individuals where they are, are likely to be more effective in reducing cannabis-related health consequences than abstinence-only approaches,” said CSMAS member Deena Casiero, the senior associate athletics director for sports medicine and the head team physician at the University of Connecticut. “We know that randomly testing small groups of individuals at championships is not likely going to be as effective a deterrent as educating athletes about what this substance is actually doing to their bodies.

She continued, “How is this affecting your injury risk? How is this affecting your recovery? How is this affecting your performance? How is it affecting your sleep, your mental health? Pushing those agendas are going to be way more effective than randomly testing a group of individuals and then punishing them when they test positive.”

“So for those of you that will be getting emails from your student-athletes’ parents, we will hopefully be offering the information to you to help with that conversation,” Mastroleo said. “What we’re going to create ideally will be a really good toolkit of opportunities to really help with dispelling myths and also letting them know that we are out there for the athletes. Will we help everybody walk away from it? No, but I mean, how many of us can actually make everybody happy?”

A vote is scheduled to formally implement the drug testing policy change for Division I colleges is expected in June.

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Tens of thousands of people are wrongfully arrested for crimes based on a false positive result from a field drug test each year, according to a recent study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. The research, which analyzed data available from public agencies across the country, found that the use of presumptive field tests in drug arrests is likely the largest known factor contributing to wrongful arrests and convictions in the United States.

The research was conducted by the University of Pennsylvania Penn Carey Law School’s Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice, a national research and policy center created to foster structural improvements to the U.S. criminal legal system. The study analyzed survey data and national estimates of drug arrests to determine the impact of field drug tests on wrongful arrests, as well as their impact on subsequent prosecutions and criminal convictions.

The study found that approximately 773,000 of the more than 1.5 field drug tests conducted in the United States each year are performed with color-based presumptive tests despite known reliability issues, including false positive results that incorrectly indicate the presence of controlled substances. Although the exact error rate for the tests has not been determined, the data suggests that about 30,000 people who do not possess drugs are falsely implicated by the tests each year.

“Every year, tens of thousands of innocent Americans are arrested on the basis of $2.00 roadside drug test kits that are known to give false positives. Now, this landmark study by the Quattrone Center demonstrates the scope of the harm done by these inaccurate test kits, including the disproportionate impact to African Americans,” Des Walsh, founder of the Roadside Drug Test Innocence Alliance, said in a report from the Penn Carey School of Law. “Based on this study, we look forward to working with law enforcement and other interested parties to implement policies and adopt better testing techniques to substantially reduce the tragic number of innocent people arrested and convicted because of these false tests.”

Tests Designed For Preliminary Use Only

The report notes that the tests were originally adopted as only a preliminary test for the presence of controlled substances because of their unreliability and potential to return false positive results. However, the widespread use of the tests has negatively impacted the integrity of the legal system. Nearly 90% of prosecutors surveyed by the researchers said that guilty pleas are permitted in their jurisdictions without verification of a field test by an accredited toxicology lab. 

“Presumptive field drug test kits are known to produce ‘false positive’ errors and were never designed or intended to provide conclusive evidence of the presence of drugs,” said Ross Miller, Quattrone Center assistant director and lead author of the report. “But in our criminal legal system, where plea bargaining is the norm and actual fact-finding by trial is exceedingly rare, these error-prone tests have become de facto determinants of guilt in a substantial share of criminal cases in the United States and, as a result, a significant cause of wrongful convictions.”

About two-thirds (67%) of the drug labs in a national sample reported that they were not asked to verify the results of positive tests in cases resolved by a plea agreement. Nearly a quarter (24%) said they do not receive samples for testing when the results of a field test are available. When samples are received, nearly half (46%) of the labs surveyed do not conduct tests to confirm the field test if a guilty plea has already been entered in the case.

The research also reveals racial disparities in the impact of false positive test results. The study found that a Black person is three times more likely than a white person to be arrested with a false positive from a field test.

The research also suggests that the manufacturers of field test kits for drugs are not being transparent with law enforcement officials about the reliability of the tests. When the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) in Florida recently discovered that field-testing kits for cocaine had produced false positives, the agency immediately discontinued the use of the kits. When the owner of the cocaine test kit company used by JSO was asked about the false positives, he responded that this was not the first time they had false positives and that this is the “nature of the beast,” according to a policy brief from the Quatrone Center.

In another interview, he stated, “I have no sense of the scale. I don’t know if it’s been one case or five. But I can’t imagine it’s horribly widespread.”

The report recommended several policy changes to reduce the reliance on presumptive field drug tests and subsequent wrongful arrests and convictions. Recommendations include regular blind audits of cases using field tests to determine the error rate. The report also recommends that police cite and release people arrested for drug possession until a lab test can verify the results of a field test. The report also calls for confirmatory testing whenever a guilty plea is accepted. The researchers also recommended that the use of field drug tests be reduced or eliminated or that more accurate tests be used.

“The relative volume of drug cases in criminal cases overall, combined with the widespread reliance on error-prone field testing in arrests, indicate that this is a significant and underexplored vector for wrongful convictions,” said Quattrone Center academic director and law professor Paul Heaton. “Law enforcement, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and the public all want an accurate criminal adjudication process. Reforming how presumptive tests are used could advance this shared goal.”

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Leafly’s Nick Jikomes, Phd, explains it all.

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A 3D printed chip which mimics human organ systems may allow for drugs to one day be tested without harming animals.

Pharmaceuticals are often if not always tested on animals before ever being administered to humans, though many drugs never make it that far in the process. In fact, when I interviewed Willy Myco the notorious YouTube educator on all things shroom-growing, he told me that he left a high-ranking position with a top pharmaceutical company to pursue YouTube content creation because he saw a room full of animals in cages who were slated to be incinerated after the tests were complete. 

This practice may eventually be a thing of the past thanks to a particular new invention created by in vitro pharmacology p.H.D. student Liam Carr and his fellow researchers at the University of Edinburgh. The 3D-printed device, which loosely resembles a translucent Connect-4 set, is referred to as a “body-on chip” and reportedly is able to replicate the way different medicines move through the human body by utilizing a process known as positron emission tomography or “PET scanning.” This essentially means that small radioactive chemicals are sent into the device which transmit images to small cameras. 

“This device is the first to be designed specifically for measuring drug distribution, with an even flow paired with organ compartments that are large enough to sample drug uptake for mathematical modeling, Carr said to the Guardian. “Essentially, allowing us to see where a new drug goes in the body and how long it stays there, without having to use a human or animal to test it.”

Now while this all may be too fancy of medical language for this humble journalist to fully grasp, Carr said the way the device works almost perfectly matches the rates at which drugs are taken in by different organ systems, allowing for accurate mathematical data to be gathered without the need for humans or animals to actually take the drug. 

“Using mathematic modeling, we have found that the rate of transfer into the organ compartments and the uptake of nutrients in vitro mimics in vivo organ results,” Carr said in a University of Edinburgh press release. “It’s been really exciting to be able to use PET imaging to modify the device and produce even flow through all organ compartments.”

According to PETA, over 110 million animals including “mice, rats, frogs, dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, monkeys, fish, and birds” are killed every year in pharmaceutical testing. Many of these animals are subjected to barbaric forms of what most humans would consider torture as well including having holes drilled in their skulls, being forced to inhale toxic fumes, being immobilized in restraints for several hours at a time to name a few. Carr’s supervisor said in a press release that this new device could drastically reduce that number of animals over time, especially considering that a very low percentage of drugs actually progress past animal trials. 

“This device shows really strong potential to reduce the large number of animals that are used worldwide for testing drugs and other compounds, particularly in the early stages, where only 2% of compounds progress through the discovery pipeline,” said Carr’s supervisor Dr Adriana Tavares of the University’s Centre for Cardiovascular Science.

Carr and his fellow researchers have received funding in the form of £260,000 (which equates to a little over $287,000 USD) from the Medical Research Council to continue testing the device using sterile materials. The device can also reportedly be used to test other substances beyond pharmaceuticals such as aerosols, food and household products. 

“We’re delighted to be supporting Liam and the CVS team in the development of this ‘body-on-chip’, and we look forward to seeing the impact this novel device has on testing and progression of new compounds and drugs in the future,” said Dr Susan Bodie, Head of Business Development for the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at Edinburgh Innovations.

It was not immediately clear based on the press release when/if the device may be distributed or when, if ever, the number of animals used in experiments may begin to dwindle but as with all things medicine it is safe to assume it will be a little while before use of this device becomes widespread. But for the sake of the animals, consider my fingers crossed. 

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California workers who use cannabis will gain new employment protections under two laws that go into effect beginning on January 1. Under legislation passed by the California legislature last year, employers will be barred from discriminating against workers who test positive for cannabis in some drug screenings, while a separate measure passed in 2023 prohibits employers from asking employees or job candidates about their off-duty use of marijuana.

Under Assembly Bill 2188 (AB 2188), which was signed into law by California Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022, employers will no longer be able to fire or discipline employees who test positive for cannabis in a urine or hair test. The bill also applies to job applicants, who cannot be denied employment based on the results of such drug screenings. The law does not prevent employers from using other drug tests for cannabis use, including blood or saliva tests. 

The new law has exceptions for employees in the building and construction industry. The measure also exempts workers and job applicants for positions that require a federal background check or security clearance.

Newsom signed the bill last year in conjunction with other cannabis-related legislation. At the time, the governor said in a press release that “rigid bureaucracy and federal prohibition continue to pose challenges to the industry and consumers.”

Many Drug Tests Are Unreliable

Cannabis policy reform advocates have long been critical of drug screenings that rely on hair or urine samples because they can return positive results weeks after the person being tested used marijuana and do not indicate impairment at the time the sample was taken. Dale Gieringer, director of the California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (CalNORML), said that the legislation going into effect on January 1 improves the employment conditions for California’s workforce.

“Testing or threatening to test bodily fluids for cannabis metabolites has been the most common way that employers harass and discriminate against employees who lawfully use cannabis in the privacy of their own homes,” Gieringer said in a statement from the cannabis policy reform advocacy group. “These new laws will end that practice without impacting workplace safety. Numerous studies have found that workers who test positive for cannabis metabolites have no higher risk of workplace accidents.”

A separate piece of legislation passed earlier this year to clarify AB 2188, Senate Bill 700 (SB 700), amends California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act to ban employers from asking job applicants about their use of cannabis while off the job. Employers are still permitted to ask job candidates about their criminal history, but they may not use information about their prior use of cannabis that is related to their criminal history unless otherwise permitted by law.

Jessica Hanson, CEO of cannabis seed company Symple Seeds, said that the new legislation is a positive step for both workers and the regulated cannabis industry. 

“These new laws represent a significant victory for California’s workers and the legal cannabis industry,” Hanson wrote in an email to High Times on Wednesday. “By limiting employer inquiries about off-duty cannabis use and banning outdated testing methods, California sends a clear message: responsible adults should not be penalized for exercising their legal rights outside the workplace. This is a welcome step towards building a fairer and more mature cannabis industry.”

The National Federation of Independent Business has characterized the new laws as one of the top five “compliance headaches” for small business owners in California for 2024. The California Chamber of Commerce expressed opposition to AB 2188 in its original form, saying the bill was a “job killer,” according to a report from public policy news site CalMatters. The business group later dropped its opposition to the legislation after lawmakers revised the bill.

Both AB 2188 and SB 700 go into effect on January 1.

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Cleveland, Ohio’s mayor announced the city would end its “antiquated” rules for employment, specifically removing the practice of drug-testing job applicants for cannabis.

Mayor Justin M. Bibb announced Dec. 7 that the City of Cleveland has “modernized” its Drug and Alcohol Testing Policy to remove certain language around pre-employment cannabis testing that previously automatically disqualified job applicants. It’s his latest move after pushing to expunge low-level cannabis convictions.

Pre-employment testing for city jobs will now be limited to only a few select positions that are identified as safety or security-sensitive, as well as positions that fall under the federal government’s Department of Transportation (DOT).  

The announcement was released on the same day that Issue 2 became law. Over 57% of voters in Ohio—and over 75% of Clevelanders—approved the bill 30 days ago. That means Cleveland residents approve of adult-use cannabis, three to one.

“The criminalization of marijuana in our state and the punitive effects it has had on education, housing, and employment opportunities have lasted far too long, but will eventually be a thing of the past—thanks to Ohioans who made their voices heard loud and clear last month when they voted to approve Issue 2,” said Mayor Bibb. “We are proud to continue leading the way by rolling out these updates, which builds on our prior marijuana reform efforts and other initiatives aimed at improving our HR policies.”

The following jobs are considered safety sensitive and will continue to drug test for pot:

• Police
• Fire
• EMS
• Department of Port Control
• Positions requiring a commercial driver’s license (CDL)
• Positions operating heavy equipment or mechanical tools

“We are constantly evaluating our policies to ensure they align with the needs and desires of both our current and prospective employees,” Director of Human Resources Matt Cole said in the release. “Pre-employment screening can oftentimes create obstacles in filling open positions by preventing otherwise qualified candidates from even applying. These policy updates are more cost-effective and will ultimately help us widen the applicant pool for several city positions.”

The city of Baltimore, as well as Washington, Nevada, and Montana have enacted similar policies, and leaders in Cleveland noticed. Despite these changes, the city will still follow rules and regulations when it comes to the Drug-Free Workplace Act.

“Maintaining a drug-free workplace is needed for obvious reasons, but it’s also important for us to be cognizant of the fact that the state is still finalizing regulation, taxation, and licensing terms and processes,” Law Director Mark Griffin said in the release. “We will be keeping a keen eye on how things get sorted out in the legislature and court system, and will adapt procedures and update policy as necessary as the situation evolves in Columbus.”

Mayor Justin Bibb

The city noted that in 2022, the Bibb Administration filed motions to expunge over 4,000 cannabis-related conviction records and then pushed for changes to State law to simplify the expungement process. 

Thanks to these efforts, Ohio Senate Bill 288 was signed into law and took effect last April, allowing city officials to expunge records more efficiently and effectively. City officials also have partnered with other agencies to hold multiple expungement clinics.  

The Bibb Administration has also spearheaded various other HR policy-related updates since the mayor took office, including opening City Hall’s first gender-inclusive restroom last June and offering employees a new comprehensive paid parental leave policy.

Bibb was young when he won office at age 34 as the city’s first millennial mayor. Last May, he moved to expunge low-level cannabis convictions. 

“I talked to so many residents who couldn’t get a job, who couldn’t get access to a student loan, who couldn’t get access to qualify for housing because they had collateral sanctions on their record, many of which stem from low-level marijuana convictions,” Bibb said.

Grants to cover filing fees and expungement clinics are rolling out to make expungements possible. “We knew we were going to face some uphill battles in the legal system,” he said.

Bibb also advocated for Senate Bill 288, which was signed into law by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine last January. The bill helps enable the city of Cleveland to provide expungements by removing barriers that previously hindered Bibb’s attempts to expunge records even earlier.  

“We try to fight on behalf of our residents,” Bibb said.

The Bibb administration also worked to notify eligible people with cannabis conviction records. After that, the city filed motions on behalf of those people using a $10,000 grant to help pay for filing fees related to expungement and the sealing of records. The city is working with organizations to host expungement clinics where people can file and close their cases, without going to court. 

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