The next time you see someone wearing an adhesive patch on their arm, don't assume it's there to help them quit smoking. PharmChek, a drug-detecting patch developed by Sudormed Inc. of Santa Ana, California, absorbs molecules of substances like marijuana, PCP, amphetamines, opiates, and cocaine given off in perspiration.
Users wear the tamper-proof patch for up to seven days, when it is sent to a lab for testing. Don't bother trying to escape detection by refusing to exert yourself for a week. "You're always sweating. You'll lose 600 milliliters just sitting at room temperature for 24 hours," says Don Schoendorfer, vice president of research and development at Sudormed.
PharmChek is being evaluated in 36 federal probation sites across the US. But for now, if the idea of getting caught toking up makes you sweat, then avoid getting slapped with a PharmChek patch.
