Hound Labs announced their agreement with Quest Diagnostics. The agreement establishes Quest as the exclusive provider of laboratory services for confirmatory testing of positive breath sample results generated by the HOUND CANNABIS BREATHALYZER, used by employers on location as an objective measure to detect and deter cannabis use during the workday. The HOUND CANNABIS BREATHALYZER, a first-of-its-kind portable solution, identifies cannabis used within hours of testing and automatically processes results on-location within minutes.

Negative test results indicate an employee is not likely to have used cannabis immediately preceding or during the workday. Under the terms, Quest Diagnostics will use a novel mass spectrometry technique it recently developed and validated at its Lenexa, KS, laboratory to confirm positive results from the Hound solution. Quest's new technique is designed to match the level of sensitivity developed by Hound Labs to detect THC, the principal psychoactive compound in cannabis, in breath samples.

Increasing cannabis legalization creates additional complications for employers as conventional cannabis testing methods – including oral fluid, urine, and hair – have windows of detection extending days, weeks, or months after use. Testing breath for cannabis using the HOUND CANNABIS BREATHALYZER isolates detection of THC to hours after use, aligning with research conducted by the University of California, San Francisco.