NCJ Number
176397
Editor(s)
M B G Babecki,
M B G Babecki,
M B G Babecki
Date Published
1995
Length
410 pages
Annotation
Seventeen papers pertinent to hair testing for drugs of abuse provide an overview of the state of the art and research results related to some of the more controversial aspects of hair analysis for illicit drugs.
Abstract
Recent contamination studies with cocaine and other illicit drugs of abuse show that environmental contamination can be the cause of positive hair tests for illicit drugs. Laboratory wash procedures designed to remove external contamination did not remove all the drug, and false-positive results were obtained as a result of exposure of drug-free hair to cocaine vapor and to aqueous solutions of cocaine hydrochloride. A search for metabolic markers of active drug use was only partially successful. The presence of cocaethylene and norcocaine appeared to be reliable markers of active cocaine use. In addition, the finding of a BZE-to-cocaine ratio greater than 0.01 also was strongly suggestive of active use. Because of the risk of environmental contamination, caution must be exercised in the interpretation of positive hair test results. 7 references, 4 figures, and 1 table