http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2012/06/soap_shown_to_cause_positive_marijuana_tests_for_n.php

Several soaps used to wash newborn babies may cause the baby to test positive for marijuana on some screening tests, according to a new study.

Urine samples that had tiny amounts of any of five popular baby soaps -- Johnson's Head-To-Toe Baby Wash, J&J Bedtime Bath, CVS Night-Time Baby Bath, Aveeno Soothing Relief Creamy Wash and Aveeno Wash Shampoo -- gave a positive result on a drug screening test for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, reports Rachel Rettner at MSNBC.


The researchers began investigating after nurses at one North Carolina hospital reported a big increase in the number of newborns testing positive for marijuana. The amount of soap in the urine needed to produce a false positive test result was tiny, less than 0.1 milliliters, according to the researchers.

This is a big deal, because screening tests that show a baby has been exposed to marijuana can, and often do, lead to the involvement of social services and even law enforcement due to accusations of child abuse. In one Alabama case last year, for example, a mother was arrested and criminally charged with "chemically endangering" her child when her baby boy tested positive for marijuana.






This, despite the fact that the body's own cannabinoids -- chemically almost identical to the active ingredients of cannabis -- are naturally present in mother's milk, and are crucial for the baby's development. In addition, according to the best scientific research, marijuana use by pregnant women may actually reduce infant mortality. Also, the babies of pot-smoking mothers scored better on tests of cognition than babies of non-toking mothers, besides.




But meanwhile, back to the false marijuana positives caused by soap on babies. Given the consequences, healthcare providers and laboratory staffs should be made aware that these soaps -- and possibly others -- can lead to a positive rest for cannabis. For that reason, positive tests should ideally be confirmed by a more sensitive method, the researchers said.




"We really did this to help protect families from being falsely accused" of marijuana use, and to help ensure that "intervention" efforts are directed at babies who are actually at risk of drug exposure, said study researcher Dr. Carl Seashore, who's a pediatrician in the newborn nursery at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill.

Drug screening tests in hospitals that come back positive are usually not sent out to labs for additional confirmation, because of the time and expense, said study researcher Catherine Hammett-Stabler, also of UNC Chapel Hill.


It's become more and more common to screen newborns for marijuana exposure, and is considered "especially recommended" for babies born to women thought to be "high risk" for "drug use," such as those who don't come in for prenatal care visits, according to Hammett-Stabler. About 10 to 40 percent of babies born at UNC Chapel Hill hospital receive the test each month, according to Seashore.


The researchers said they aren't sure why the soaps would cause positive marijuana tests. It could be that some compounds in the soap are chemically similar to THC (this doesn't mean you need to go smoking soap), or it could be that the chemicals in the soap change the way the test works, according to Hammett-Stabler.


When a more sensitive test was used on the urine samples containing the soap, the test came back negative, Hammett-Stabler said.



UNC Chapel Hill, at least, has changed its policy based on its own findings. All positive newborn drug urine tests from the hospital are now sent out for confirmation before any action is taken.


The study was published in the June issue of Clinical Biochemistry.

http://parentsociety.com/baby/is-it-baby-wash-or-marijuana/


Is It Baby Wash or…Marijuana?

Could a simple bath lead to a positive drug test for your newborn?

Imagine this: your newborn baby tests positive in the hospital for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana. Child protective services shows up at your home to question you about the presence of drugs in your baby’s system. They’re talking as if you are an abusive parent who shouldn’t have custody of your own child. Sound like a nightmare? It is…and it can happen to you, too.

A new study, published in the June issue of the journal Clinical Biochemistry, found that five baby washes—Johnson & Johnson’s Head-to-Toe Baby Wash, J&J Bedtime Bath, CVS Night-Time Baby Bath, Aveeno Soothing Relief Creamy Wash, and Aveeno Wash Shampoo—contain trace amounts of THC. That drug can then show up in your baby’s urine and blood stream, thus leading to a positive drug test.

The researchers began their investigation after nurses at UNC Chapel Hill reported an increase in the number of newborns testing positive for marijuana. ”We really did this to help protect families from being falsely accused” of drug use, and to help ensure that intervention efforts are directed to babies who are truly at risk of drug exposure, said study researcher Dr. Carl Seashore, a pediatrician in the newborn nursery at UNC Chapel Hill.

Up until now, you may have had no idea that newborns were even screened for drugs in the hospital. Well, they are. In fact, such tests are common…especially in babies born to moms who are considered “high-risk.” What makes a woman high-risk? Well, not coming to the hospital for regular prenatal visits is a prime indicator. In fact, the hospital in question, UNC Chapel Hill, says that they test 10 to 40 percent of babies born there each month.

It’s important to note that the presence of THC in these baby washes doesn’t actually replicate the “high” of being on marijuana in a baby. “It’s not marijuana a in any way, shape or form,” said study researcher Catherine Hammett-Stabler, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

What exactly it is, though, is still in question. The researchers aren’t sure exactly why babies who have used these soaps can test positive for marijuana. It could be that some of the compounds in the soap have a structure that is partly similar to THC, or it could be that chemicals in the soap change the way the test works, Hammett-Stabler said.

Regardless of the science behind it, it’s pretty disconcerting that our children could have some form of marijuana in their system. Equally disconcerting is the idea that child protective services could be showing up at our doors. As a result of their research, UNC Chapel Hill now sends all positive newborn drug urine tests for conformation before any action is taken. Let’s hope other hospitals do the same.

Either that, or they stop using those darn soaps!

since when do hospitals test for drugs on an infant?

-blue skies

Hospitals do that all the time. They're trying to make the system more money with a criminal charge if they can get one.

They usually target the poor. Blacks, Hispanics, and poor whites are usually prime targets.

They supposedly don't in Oregon.
Not in any sort of routine or mandated way, anyhow.

But yeah, this is fairly commonplace in the US - particularly if you are in a targeted or "suspect" group as was mentioned above

Basically, if you have insurance, no one is drug testing your baby, because the Dr would need permission to do the testing or wont be paid. On the OTHER hand.. Poor people are considered less than human, similar to the pot people. Another group we should embrace.

I'm not seeing any monetary incentive for such testing and would be interested in any actual statistics. There is no monetary benefit to having someone charged with a crime as a result of going to get treatment, and if they aren't insured, the hospital just wants to get them out the door.

There you go some ambulance chaser needs to find someone that was fasely accussed of their kid testing pos. and sue. Only when it cost the powers that be will they not do shit like this.

Obahma is lucky they didn't test his kids.

You're wrong on almost all you said. The part you got right is that the hospital wants them out the door, which is true.

What you got wrong was that there IS a big monetary incentive on testing certain people which don't have a lot of money. How it works in the U.S. is like this:

You have no money, no insurance. You are a liability for the hospital, but easily discarded because of this (as you mentioned). However, you are just as easily a prime target for the criminal justice system, because when you have no money, you have no way to fight a criminal charge, whether it's legitimate or not.

The monetary benefit of charging someone is absolutely there, as the taxpayers have to pay into the system every single time a person gets a pot charge and has to spend time in jail because of it. And even if the taxpayer doesn't foot the bill, the person charged has to pay into the system with probation fees and fines, as well as have their child wrapped up in the CPS system, which you guessed it, makes them MORE MONEY!!!!! Remember, it takes money to hire lawyers and working with a bitchass probation officer to get your own kid back! And it's all paid for by John or Jane Q. Taxpayer.

Hell, it's so bad in the States now that our tax dollars are actually paying for people who aren't in prisons yet. Stock brokers on Wall St. are actually bitching that people aren't going to jail/prison fast enough, and they're losing money because of it.

Some people are getting very VERY rich of off making a huge amount of people very very poor.