Pediapod - Detecting biomarkers of secondhand marijuana smoke in young children

The legality of medical and recreational marijuana use is on the rise across the US, and this has led to an increase in its usage. But the effects of second hand marijuana smoke on young infants is unknown. Taking advantage of a newly developed high sensitivity assay, Karen Wilson, a pediatrician at the Icahn School of medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, showed that 16% of a cohort of young children hospitalized with bronchiolitis between 2013 and 2015, showed detectable levels of secondhand marijuana smoke metabolites in their urine and are potentially at risk for negative health effects. Article link: http://www.nature.com/pr/journal/v81/n4/full/pr2016261a.html