Cannabis Blog

It seems some chemicals in several common baby shampoos and soaps – like polyquarternium-11 and cocamidopropyl betaine - can cause positive results for THC in urine. This discovery was made after a hospital in North Carolina noticed that newborn babies were testing positive for marijuana at incredible rates.

The lead author of a study into the issue - Dr. Catherine Hammett-Stabler – told ABC News, "We went up to the nursery, followed the nurses and the staff around to identify everything that was done, everything that was essentially touching those babies' skins, could possibly come into contact with the urine that we were subsequently testing. We were really surprised when we found it was the soaps were the culprit."

The shampoos and soaps causing the positive results include Johnson & Johnson's Bedtime Bath, CVS Night-time Baby Bath, Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Creamy Wash and Aveeno Baby Wash & Shampoo.

Which brings up an interesting dilemma. If your newborn baby tests positive for marijuana, the mothers can be subject to dire consequences, including the loss of their child. How many mothers have been falsely accused across the country?

"[The researchers] do not want to be falsely accusing anybody. They want to correctly identify situations that need additional intervention or social services actions for the protection of the baby," Stabler said.

But this can’t be the only hospital this has happened at.

"This has profound implications," said Dr. John Spangler, an associate professor of family and community medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, in an email to ABC News. "Think about being a mother who knows she has never been exposed to illicit drugs. How does she fight against the supposed 'objective' lab test?

"On the one hand, we must screen babies' urine to protect them from harmful environments, such as households where drugs are used," he said. "On the other hand, this study makes clear that such screens are plagued by known and unknown factors that can result in false positives."

So many kids taken away in fits of “reefer madness;” how many mothers have been falsely accused?

Source: http://abcnews.go.com