title: Urinary cannabinoids in monitoring abstinence in a drug abuse treatment program.
abstract: Urine specimens from 162 adolescents entering a drug treatment program were tested for cannabinoids using a photometric immunoassay (EMITst) and thin-layer chromatography (TLC). The EMITst has a cutoff point of detection 25 ng/mL or less of 9-carboxy-tetrahydrocannabinol. When reported as positive, both tests appeared to be reliable. There were two false-positive EMITst results and three false-positive TLC results in the 67 urine specimens that did not contain cannabinoids. When reported as negative, however, the EMITst with its 100 ng/mL cutoff failed to detect almost 40% of all cannabinoid-positive specimens. Of the 65 chronic marijuana smokers in the present study who stated that they had smoked within two days of their admission into the treatment facility, 17 (26%) went undetected by the 100 ng/mL cutoff used by the EMITst method. In clinical settings such as drug treatment programs, tests for urinary cannabinoids should use a detection threshold at 20 ng/mL or less.
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Willette
authors.forename: G F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Hayden
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bogema
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Thorne
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hicks
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002186:Cannabinoids / Q000652:urine*; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000379:methods; D012746:Sexual Abstinence
chemical_list: D002186:Cannabinoids