Assessing the potential of a "color effect" for hair analysis of 11-nor-9-carboxy-delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol: analysis of a large sample of hair specimens.
It has been hypothesized that hair color may play a role in the concentration of various drugs of abuse in hair. Several studies have shown that melanin in hair appears to play a binding role for at least some commonly abused drugs. However, these studies have been limited by a number of factors when assessing the clinical significance of a hypothesized melanin or color effect. This study evaluates the possible effect of hair color on the concentration of 11-nor-9-carboxy-Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (c-THC) in human hair. The analysis is based on 3886 positive c-THC hair specimens drawn from a universe of approximately 80000 specimens of scalp hair harvested from the posterior vertex of the head. Analysis of variance of color categorization by c-THC concentration shows that c-THC concentration does not have a significant association with hair color (Hair Color F = 1.148, p =.332) and therefore does not have a demonstrable "color effect".
Mieczkowski
Tom
T
Department of Criminology, University of South Florida, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL 33602, USA. mieczkow@chuma 1.cas.usf.edu
D013759:Dronabinol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry*; D006200:Hair Color / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection
C016780:11-nor-delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid; D013759:Dronabinol