By Melissa Drift | Posted August 8, 2024
Gov. Phil Murphy signed three bills in February 2021 — essentially legalizing recreational marijuana in the Garden State. Three years later, this legislation still poses challenges — especially for law enforcement and employers.
For example, how do the police handle people who drive under the influence of marijuana? How high is too high to drive? How does an employer ensure the safety of workers doing dangerous jobs, such as operating heavy machinery?
Clearly a simple, effective test is needed to confirm whether somebody is too high to drive or to perform certain jobs — something along the lines of a Breathalyzer, which police use when they suspect a driver is under the influence of alcohol.
Dr. HIMANSHU BHATIA of Montgomery Township, NJ, invented a test to detect whether a person is under the influence of marijuana.
Montgomery Township resident Dr. Himanshu Bhatia has risen to the challenge. He is the founder and CEO of a company called Ricovr, (pronounced “recover”). He developed a new test called Xaliva-THC, which uses saliva to detect whether a person has used marijuana within the last six to eight hours.
Dr. Bhatia's new Xaliva test is simple. It uses a swab to collect a saliva sample, which is then placed into a disposable plastic cartridge. The cartridge is inserted into the machine, which shows the reading on its screen. It detects THC within 5 minutes, and only detects recent use.
The device looks like a debit card reader. It works by using a patented biosensor that measures the change of light upon the binding of THC.
Specifically, it measures the Delta 9 form of THC, the parent molecule of the substance. This form of THC is present in saliva very soon after smoking or ingesting marijuana and the amount can be measured much more accurately and consistently than the amount of carboxyl THC that can be measured in urine.
A NEW MARIJUANA TEST called Xaliva-THC by Ricovr of Princeton, NJ.
Traditionally, employers have used a simple urine test to determine if someone uses marijuana. However, the urine test can only tell whether a person has used marijuana within the past 30 days. It measures carboxyl THC, which is released in the urine. This substance can be excreted in the urine for up to 30 days after a person has used marijuana.
This type of testing worked well enough when marijuana was illegal because employers could just reject people on the basis that they used an illegal drug at all, regardless of whether they thought the person was currently under the influence while working. And police could arrest people for simply having any amount of it in their car.
But now that marijuana is legal and less stigmatized, and medical use is increasing, the traditional urine test isn’t good enough anymore. It doesn’t tell police or employers whether a person is under the influence right now, only that they’ve used within the past month or so.
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Originally from New Delhi, India, Dr. Bhatia started out as a pediatrician. He practiced medicine in India for several years in the 1990s before deciding to further his career in the United States in 2001. He earned a master’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Texas, then worked as a post-doctoral scientist at several universities, including Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx.
Interested in the commercialization of medical sciences, he decided to get an MBA at the University of Rochester. He then worked for a series of medical device companies, where he launched products in many countries around the world. Finally, he created Ricovr in 2019.
Dr. Bhatia said he got the idea for the Xaliva test from a similar device being developed in India to detect tuberculosis.
In 2019, he had started looking at technologies to get ideas for how a better marijuana test could be made. “I understood the THC molecule, and how important it would be to detect it in saliva, and I was looking for technologies that would be capable of doing that,” he said.
He found what he was looking for at the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras, India.
“They were using the core technology for tuberculosis detection,” he said. “Their thesis was to develop a low-cost point of care test for tuberculosis.”
“Scientifically, it made sense that we could tweak the science for marijuana. We could pick up THC on the same platform. So, we did a proof of concept with them. They showed us that it worked. And then we licensed the technology and brought everything here and continued to develop it.”
Dr. Bhatia moved to the Princeton area in 2016, because he and his wife, who is an oncologist, both wanted to pursue new career opportunities. She had been hired for a professor position by Rutgers and he had landed a job at a medical device company in New York City. His wife now works for a pharmaceutical company.
“That was another fascinating thing about [Montgomery] New Jersey, the amazing pharma environment,” he said when asked about his decision to move here.
“I love the diversity that’s in Montgomery. I love the feeling of community. I love how open it is — the parks and recreation are awesome. And of course, not to forget the primary reason we moved to Montgomery was the education [system] it has to offer.
“The middle school, which is where my son started, through to the high school, I just can’t say enough about the teachers, and the facilities they have.”
Their son, Ekam just graduated from Montgomery High School and will attend Northeastern University in the fall to study applied mathematics.
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Dr. Bhatia’s parents, who still live in India, travel to Montgomery every year to visit. His mother is retired from a bank. His father, who was originally from Pakistan, had to migrate to India when the partition happened in 1947. This was when India and Pakistan gained independence from Great Britain and split into two different countries.
“Their background is actually very inspiring. My father migrated from Pakistan, which in fact was one big nation before it was divided into India and Pakistan. He was in eighth grade when this happened, and they basically had to leave everything behind.
“My grandfather had big businesses in Pakistan, which actually was undivided India at that time. When the partition happened, a lot of families had to migrate and he was one of those. They literally came to India with no money. They had to stay in refugee camps. They built themselves up from that state and they did that really well.
“When I was born, he was working for a great shipping company. It’s fascinating to think about his struggles and all he had to do to be there.”
Ricovr, headquartered off Route 1 in Princeton, has eight employees, most of whom are in New Jersey. The chief technology office is in California. They also have consultants who advise them on various issues, such as law enforcement.
The tests are going to be manufactured in the U.S. They are looking into facilities in New Jersey that could manufacture it. The disposable cartridges are being made in Germany.
The company plans to have the first 50 devices ready by the end of 2024.
Eventually the company will market the device to police for law enforcement use, however there are a lot of logistics to be worked out around the issue of marijuana and driving. For now they are marketing to employers in safety-sensitive industries, such as construction, transportation, manufacturing, oil, and gas. ■
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