Ethnic hair care products may increase false positives in hair drug testing.
The question of why different races appear more susceptible to hair contamination by external drugs remains controversial. This research studied susceptibility of head hair to external cocaine and methamphetamine when hair products have been applied. Three different chemical classes of ethnic hair products were applied to Caucasian, Asian, and African hair. Some products increased the methamphetamine and cocaine concentrations in all hair types. A unique finding of this research is that certain ethnic hair products can replace moisture as a diffusion medium, thereby increasing the susceptibility to contamination over 100-fold compared to petroleum-based products.
Chemistry Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375, United States.
David A
DA
Kidwell
University of New Haven, West Haven, CT 06516, United States. Electronic address: NRLSummerResearchFaculty@gmail.com.
Frederick P
FP
Smith
American Society for Engineering Education Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program, United States.
Arica R
AR
Shepherd
D003042:Cocaine / Q000032:analysis; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D053593:Forensic Toxicology; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry*; D006203:Hair Preparations / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008694:Methamphetamine / Q000032:analysis; D009294:Narcotics / Q000032:analysis*; D044469:Racial Groups; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis
D006203:Hair Preparations; D009294:Narcotics; D008694:Methamphetamine; D003042:Cocaine
Cocaine; False-positive; Hair; Hair care products; Methamphetamine