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But this research is rapidly evolving. Check out the TECHNOLOGY
game-changing marijuana breath analyzer, developed by Location Tracking
Hound Labs, an Oakland, Calif.-based company headed up “There’s an app for that…” usually refers to a relatively
by Mike Lynn, MD, a practicing emergency room trauma non-essential smartphone function, like entertainment,
physician and a deputy reserve sheriff. Called the Breathalyzer, fitness tracking, or record-keeping. A new location-finding
the disposable cartridge is a handheld device the size of a app designed to help find people who are lost in the outdoors
mobile phone, and can accurately measure microscopic mar- is helping change that perception.
ijuana particles in a person’s breath. This testing device differs Homewood Mountain Resort in California is the first
from saliva swabs, or blood or urine tests—those measure the ski area to adopt AirFlare, a new wilderness safety app and
presence of THC (the principal, psycho-active constituent in related search technology system that’s been catching on
marijuana that creates the “high”) in body fluids. This element with outdoor enthusiasts and search and rescue teams in
can stay in fluids and body fat for weeks or even months. California—and is now launching nationally.
The innovation of the Breathalyzer is that it measures the It works like this: Users download the AirFlare app from
presence of THC within 2 to 3 hours of actual consumption, the Apple App Store or Google Play, then subscribe to an
the time, most experts believe, when pot is most impairing opt-in service that creates a unique search ID and effectively
(called “peak impairment”). By comparison, saliva swabs enables their phone as a searchable rescue beacon. If a guest
can only measure THC presence in the body some 36 to 48 goes missing, ski patrol or search and rescue teams can use
hours after consumption, and they do not effectively indicate the AirFlare detector device and a corresponding app called
actual impairment. Notably, the Hound Labs’ Breathalyzer Field Console to quickly check to see if the person is regis-
can accurately measure THC in pot, whether it is smoked or tered with the service, or to configure the device to search for
ingested as edibles. an unregistered phone. The detector device pings the phone
The person being tested blows into the handheld device and activates a Location Return feature that automatically
for 30 seconds to 1 minute while outside, not in a build- pulls GPS coordinates from the lost subject’s phone. The
ing or automobile (being inside a confined space can lead to detector device can locate a registered phone’s coordinates
unreliable readings). The disposable cartridge is then placed even if it is not within cell service—as long as it has power.
into a laptop-sized terminal for measuring. (The cartridge James Sindt, Homewood’s ski patrol director and risk
can be saved for re-testing, or confirmation testing, in a mass manager, says his team helped out with extensive testing of
spectrometer, which can be done at a local lab like one of the the AirFlare app and detector device during the 2017–18
many Quest laboratories found in most states.) According to season and has now added AirFlare to its quiver of tools
Dr. Lynn, the Breathalyzer can measure “ridiculously low when searching for lost guests.
levels [of THC] in someone’s breath, down to a couple parts “My biggest concern when a guest goes missing and isn’t
per trillion.” It also doubles as an alcohol breathalyzer. responding to phone calls is that they’re somehow incapacitated
He is working to finalize the testing and com mercial sale of in a tree well,” Sindt said. “If we can get GPS coordinates for
the devices. The package system (cartridge and the base station) where a specific cellphone is once a missing person report comes
likely will not be available for commercial or law enforcement in, at the outset of a search, that can be a game-changer for us.”
use until mid-2019. The price point for the cartridges (around While AirFlare hasn’t been used in a live search scenario
$20 each) and the base station will be a couple thousand dollars. yet—and is “not a replacement for an avalanche beacon,”
One limitation is that it does not measure the amount of THC Sindt emphasizes—the app and its detector device passed
consumed, which can be captured by blood or urine tests. with flying colors during the research and development phase
However, for employers, one promising aspect of this new at Homewood. The resort did a lot of testing similar to
technology is that it is the closest thing to capturing a more
reliable measurement of impairment, rather than pot use from Have a new—or even old—technological innovation?
a week or month ago. This will allow employers who conduct Whether it’s a cutting-edge device, novel application, or use
drug testing to not have to unfairly lose good employees over of existing technology, if it simplifies operations, lowers costs,
unreliable saliva or urine tests that do not gauge something or promotes safety, we want to hear about it. Send your idea or
approximating impairment. Given the challenges ski areas story to editor@nsaa.org so we can highlight it in a future issue
of the Journal.
facing finding—and keeping—good, qualified employees, This section is not intended for general product reviews or
such testing devices could go a long way to promote more fair- advertorials; the objective is to provide information on new
ness in workplace drug testing. Learn more at houndlabs.com. or particularly noteworthy technology and ski area innovation.
—Dave Byrd

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