Linakis JG, et al. - In this investigation, researchers studied the reliability, concurrent, convergent and discriminating test-retest validity of a newly designed screen (the Newton screen) for alcohol and cannabis use/misuse and its predictive validity for follow-up. Adolescents aged 12-17 (n = 4898) were enrolled in a study as part of a larger study within the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network in 1 of 16 participating Pediatric Emergency Departments across the US. At baseline, the Newton screen's sensitivity to alcohol use disorder was 78.3% with a specificity of 93.0%. Investigators found that the cannabis use question had a baseline sensitivity of 93.1% and specificity of 93.5% for cannabis use disorder. Overall, they suggested that the Newton screening instrument could be suitable for use in the busy clinical environment as a brief screening tool. They observed that alcohol and cannabis were high in specificity, but cannabis was higher in sensitivity than alcohol. Like other brief screens, more detailed follow-up questions may be needed to assess the risk of substance misuse and the need for referral to treatment in a definitive way.