Taking a cue from the Air Force, the Marine Corps is working with researchers to develop urinalysis that can detect the marijuana-like substance known as “spice” as well as other synthetic cannabinoids.

So far, Marine officials have no timeline to begin testing Marines, and it’s not immediately clear why they haven’t simply adopted the test administered by the Air Force. They were quick to note, however, that current policy prohibits use of any drug used for the purpose of inducing excitement, intoxication, or stupefaction.

Drug manufacturers have potentially hundreds of synthetic cannabinoids from which to choose, meaning testing for spice is a lot more involved than testing for a single drug. The Armed Forces Medical Examiner System routinely tests new brands of spice to keep up with the changing ingredients. Because of the large number of synthetic cannabinoids, studies on the metabolic profile of the drugs are limited.

Source: Marine Corps Times