title: Screening for marijuana and cocaine abuse by immunoanalysis and gas chromatography.
abstract: Drug abuse among college students is characterized by lower academic performance and long-term negative consequences. Screening to detect students at high risk of consuming drugs is of primary importance to insure early identification and appropriate levels of care. As a result, this study aimed to determine the current or past use of drug abuse through a questionnaire applied to a student population at the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos. The results were confirmed by immunoanalysis and gas chromatography of urine. We interviewed 181 students aged 15 to 21 (gender was not considered in this study), and urine samples were collected for analytical analysis. For detection of metabolites Delta9-THCA-A and benzoylecgonine from marijuana and cocaine, respectively, a homogenous enzymatic inmmunoanalysis was used; subsequent samples were analyzed by a mass spectrometer with quadrupole detector. Seven samples of the total (181) did not completely fit the inclusion criteria and were eliminated. The results showed 0.50% and 1.16% positive samples for benzoylecgonine and Delta9-THCA-A, respectively. These results are not different from those of the National Questionnaire on Addiction. We can establish a program for detecting drug consumption in our students. This kind of study is important in order to implement programs that can help us to decrease the abuse of drugs in our college population.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Farmacia Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México. saragarcia@uaem.mx
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Garcia-Jimenez
authors.forename: Karina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Heredia-Lezama
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bilbao-Marcos
authors.forename: Griselda
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fuentes-Lara
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Monroy-Noyola
authors.forename: Myrna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deciga-Campos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003042:Cocaine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000652:urine; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013759:Dronabinol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000652:urine; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods*; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008403:Mass Screening; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014556:Urine / Q000737:chemistry; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C005618:benzoylecgonine; D013759:Dronabinol; D003042:Cocaine