Alpha Drug Testing Services, LLC

06/30/2025

06/26/2025

A new study led by UC San Francisco researchers finds that chronic cannabis use -- whether it's smoked or consumed in edible form -- is associated with significant cardiovascular risks.

The report, published May 28 in JAMA Cardiology, found that people who regularly used ma*****na in either form had reduced blood vessel function that was comparable to to***co smokers. Vascular function in those who used cannabis by either means was reduced roughly by half compared to those who did not use it.

Decreased vascular function is associated with a greater risk of heart attack, hypertension, and other cardiovascular conditions.

The researchers recruited 55 people between October 2021 and August 2024 who were outwardly healthy and either regularly smoked ma*****na or consumed edibles containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive compound found in cannabis.

The participants, none of whom used any form of ni****ne, consumed cannabis at least three times a week for at least a year. Smokers averaged 10 years of chronic use, and those who took edibles averaged five years.

Along with decreased vascular function, ma*****na smokers had changes in their blood serum that were harmful to endothelial cells, which form the inner lining of all blood and lymphatic vessels. Those who took edibles containing THC, however, did not display these changes in blood serum.

It's unclear how THC damages blood vessels. But the researchers said it must be happening in a way that does not involve those changes to blood serum.

These results suggest smoking ma*****na negatively affects vascular function for different reasons than ingesting THC does, according to first author Leila Mohammadi, MD, PhD, and senior author Matthew L. Springer, PhD.

06/19/2025

(City Journal) America’s ongoing ma*****na-legalization experiment will have many consequences. That goes especially for the seriously mentally ill, a sliver of the adult population but overrepresented among the ranks of compulsive pot users. Treating schizophrenia and bipolar disorder is never easy; even when treatment is available, the seriously mentally ill often fail to comply. A [person with schizophrenia] who spends most of his days in a dark room smoking w**d is not a clinically promising case.

The issue is only partly whether pot causes mental illness. A large body of research studies, involving tens of thousands of people, has suggested, with impressive replicability, that heavy cannabis use increases the risk of developing mental illness. Legalization proponents reject this, contending that, while the rate of ma*****na consumption has soared over recent decades, the rate of serious mental illness seems to have stayed flat.

These questions might never be settled. But one uncontestable point is that, for hundreds of thousands of seriously mentally ill Americans, problem pot use often continues long after their first psychotic break. The federal government estimates that nearly half of all adults with serious mental illness use ma*****na, a rate almost three times that of the non-mentally ill population. The seriously mentally ill’s rate of ma*****na-use disorder (a clinical definition derived from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM) is more than five times that of the non-mentally ill population.

06/12/2025

ARIZONA: A new law approved by a wide margin and signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs will put curbs on how those state-regulated establishments that sell ma*****na can promote their products. The key, according to Rep. Selina Bliss, is to stop promoting the drug, which is legal for adults, to anyone younger than 21.

And that, said the Prescott Republican, means making sure that none of this advertising is targeted at those in that age group.

What does that mean?

Well, to start, it means no images or likenesses of toys, cartoons, “or animated or fictional characters, including Santa Claus,’’ a point that did not go unnoticed that, perhaps to the dismay of children throughout the state that it put into Arizona law that Santa is not real.

06/05/2025

(CNN) Healthy people who regularly smoked ma*****na or consumed THC-laced edibles showed signs of early cardiovascular disease similar to to***co smokers, a new small study found.

“To my knowledge, it’s the first study looking at THC’s impact on vascular function in humans,” said senior study author Matthew Springer, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

“We’re looking at a window in the future, showing the early changes that may explain why smoking ma*****na has been linked to later heart disease,” Springer said. “It appears the act of smoking and the THC itself both contribute to those changes in different ways.”

05/20/2025

In Observance of Memorial Day, Alpha Drug Testing Services will be closed on Monday May 26th.

We will resume regular hours on Tuesday, May 27th. Have a safe holiday!

05/16/2025

SALIVA TESTING FOR THC

THC can enter the saliva through exposure to secondhand cannabis smoke. However, its metabolites (the ones tested for in a drug test) are only present in saliva when you have personally smoked or ingested cannabis.

Saliva testing has a short window of detection and, in some cases, may detect same-day cannabis use.

A 2020 review found that THC was still detected in the oral fluid of frequent smokers 72 hours after use. THC may be detected in oral fluid longer than in blood after acute use.

In jurisdictions where cannabis is illegal, oral fluid may be used for roadside testing.

05/14/2025

Did you know that experiencing trauma can significantly increase addiction risk? Children who experience violence, abuse, loss of loved ones, accidents, or disasters face higher vulnerability to substance use.

There is hope: early, appropriate intervention makes a difference.

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