heroin and benzoylecgonine

Recent publications have explored the possibility of using fingerprints to confirm drug use, but none has yet dealt with environmental contamination from fingertips. Here we explored the possibility of establishing an environmental cutoff for drug testing from a single fingerprint.. Fingerprint samples (n = 100) were collected from the hands of 50 nondrug users before and after handwashing to establish separate environmental cutoff values and testing protocols for cocaine, benzoylecgonine, heroin, and 6-monoacetylmorphine. The cutoff was challenged by testing the fingerprints of drug-free volunteers after shaking hands with drug users. Fingerprints from patients who testified to taking cocaine (n = 32) and heroin (n = 24) were also collected and analyzed.. A different cutoff value needed to be applied, depending on whether the fingerprints were collected as presented or after handwashing. Applying these cutoffs gave a 0% false-positive rate from the drug-free volunteers. After application of the cutoff, the detection rate (compared to patient testimony) for washed hands of patients was 87.5% for cocaine use and 100% for heroin use.. Fingerprints show enhanced levels of cocaine, heroin, and their respective metabolites in patients who testified to taking the substances, compared with the population of naïve drug users surveyed, and a cutoff (decision level) can be established. The cutoff is robust enough to account for small increases in analyte observed after secondary transfer.

Topics: Case-Control Studies; Cocaine; Fingers; Hand Disinfection; Heroin; Humans; Limit of Detection; Morphine Derivatives; Reproducibility of Results; Skin; Substance Abuse Detection; Substance-Related Disorders

The illegal use of opiates and cocaine is a challenge world-wide, but some derivatives are also valuable pharmaceuticals. Reference samples of the active ingredients and their metabolites are needed both for controlling administration in the clinic and to detect drugs of abuse. Especially, (13)C-labeled compounds are useful for identification and quantification purposes by mass spectroscopic techniques, potentially increasing accuracy by minimizing ion alteration/suppression effects. Thus, the synthesis of [acetyl-(13)C4]heroin, [acetyl-(13)C4-methyl-(13)C]heroin, [acetyl-(13)C2-methyl-(13)C]6-acetylmorphine, [N-methyl-(13)C-O-metyl-(13)C]codeine and phenyl-(13)C6-labeled derivatives of cocaine, benzoylecgonine, norcocaine and cocaethylene was undertaken to provide such reference materials. The synthetic work has focused on identifying (13)C atom-efficient routes towards these derivatives. Therefore, the (13)C-labeled opiates and cocaine derivatives were made from the corresponding natural products.

Topics: Analgesics, Opioid; Biological Products; Carbon-13 Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Cocaine; Codeine; Heroin; Humans; Molecular Structure; Morphine; Morphine Derivatives; Substance Abuse Detection; Urinalysis

Although self reports of illicit drug use may not be reliable, this information is frequently collected and relied upon by national drug surveys and by counselors in drug treatment programs. The addition of oral fluid testing to these programs would provide objective information on recent drug use.. The goal of this study was to compare oral fluid tests for cocaine, benzoylecgonine, 6-acetylmorphine, morphine, codeine and 6-acetylcodeine to self reports of recent cocaine and heroin use by patients in an outpatient methadone treatment program.. Patients (n=400) provided an oral fluid specimen and completed a short questionnaire on illicit drug use over the last seven days. Oral fluid was collected with the Intercept Oral Fluid Collection device. Oral fluid was analyzed by a validated assay using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. The presence of an analyte was confirmed if all identification criteria were met and its concentration (ng/mL) was ≥ LOQ (cocaine, 0.4; benzoylecgonine, 0.4; morphine, 2; codeine, 2; 6-acetylmorphine, 0.4; and 6-acetylcodeine, 1).. Analyses of oral fluid specimens collected from the 400 methadone maintained patients revealed that a majority (95%) of subjects who admitted to recent cocaine use were confirmed positive, whereas slightly more than 50% were confirmed positive who admitted to heroin over the last seven days. For those patients who denied recent cocaine and heroin use, approximately 30% were positive for cocaine and 14% were positive for heroin.. Oral fluid testing provides an objective means of verifying recent drug use and for assessment of patients in treatment for substance use disorders.

Topics: Cocaine; Cocaine-Related Disorders; Codeine; Heroin; Heroin Dependence; Humans; Methadone; Morphine; Morphine Derivatives; Narcotics; Opiate Substitution Treatment; Saliva; Self Report; Substance Abuse Detection

Xylazine, a veterinary sedative, has been found as an adulterant of heroin in street drugs in Puerto Rico. It was found in combination with free morphine and 6-acetylmorphine, codeine, cocaine and benzoylecgonine in postmortem cases at the Puerto Rico Institute of Forensic Sciences (PRIFS). Xylazine is not approved for human use because it has been proven harmful. Currently, three separate analyses are required to determine all the aforementioned drugs at the PRIFS's toxicology laboratory. To reduce analysis time consumption, sample volume, run time, sample preparation and cost, a high-throughput ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of xylazine, free morphine, 6-acetylmorphine, codeine, cocaine and benzoylecgonine in 0.25 mL postmortem blood by protein precipitation, fulfilling confirmation criteria with three transitions for each compound with acceptable relative ion intensities. Linearity was established between 10-1,000 ng/mL. Total run time was 2.5 min. Limit of detection was 1 ng/mL for cocaine and xylazine, 2 ng/mL for 6-acetylmorphine and 10 ng/mL for free morphine, codeine and benzoylecgonine. The intra-day and inter-day precision and accuracy was less than 15.6%. Process efficiencies ranged from 35.9 to 123.4% and recoveries from 59.9 to 110.1%. The developed method was successfully applied to casework.

Topics: Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Cocaine; Codeine; Drug Contamination; Forensic Pathology; Heroin; Humans; Illicit Drugs; Morphine; Morphine Derivatives; Reproducibility of Results; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; Substance Abuse Detection; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Xylazine

Although cocaine is a widely abused illicit substance that is known to cause death, deaths due to its use appear to occur in a minority of those who use it. This report was designed to review drug-related deaths due to cocaine, and the concomitant use of other drugs/medications. A retrospective review of drug deaths at the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office in San Antonio, Texas, was undertaken for cases where cocaine was one of the drugs implicated in causing death. Analysis was performed comparing the concentrations of cocaine and benzoylecgonine present and the absence or presence of other drugs. The data obtained showed that cocaine was toxic over a large range with deaths occurring at concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 78 mg/L. Analyses also indicated an increased lethality when cocaine is used in combination with ethanol, heroin, opiates, and antidepressant/antipsychotic medications, which is consistent with previous reports and research. Antihistamine data showed that there may be relationship between increased toxicity and co-ingestion, although more research is necessary.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Antipsychotic Agents; Benzodiazepines; Central Nervous System Depressants; Cocaine; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Interactions; Ethanol; Female; Forensic Toxicology; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Heroin; Histamine Antagonists; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Narcotics; Retrospective Studies; Texas

One month before (T-1) and 12 months after (T12) controlled i.v. administration of pharmaceutical heroin-HCl (10-100 mg/day) in the context of a heroin maintenance program (HMP), concentrations of opiates and cocaine as well as its metabolites were determined in head hair (n = 46) using a validated gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric method. In addition, a patient collective of a methadone maintenance program (MMP, daily doses 15-260 mg) was examined (n = 35). The incidence of additional cocaine consumption decreased in both groups during the study period (T-1 to T12): in HMP from 64.6% to 45.8% and in MMP from 71.4% to 60.0%. A significant reduction of cocaine consumption was defined as an at least 30% reduction of analyte concentrations in hair (Deltac > 30%). Accordingly, in HMP, a decrease in 45.8% of initially (T-1) cocaine-positive patients was determined; in MMP, the reduction was 48.6%. In 22.9% of HMP and 37.1% of MMP, an increase of cocaine concentrations was detected. Codeine and acetylcodeine were found in 50.0% and 43.5% (T-1) and 13.0% and 10.9% (T12) of the samples of the HMP, as well as in 45.7% and 25.7% (T-1) and 17.1% and 5.7% (T12) in MMP, respectively. The missing of acetylcodeine, in particular at T-1, questions its applicability as a characteristic marker of a preceding consumption of illicit heroin in hair analysis.

Topics: Cocaine; Codeine; Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Hair; Heroin; Heroin Dependence; Humans; Linear Models; Methadone; Narcotics; Substance Abuse Detection

The diffusion and trends in use of each substance is a basic information in policy planning of strategies aiming at deterrence of drug abuse or in the organization of the fight against drug trafficking. The actual diffusion of illicit drugs in a population is hardly measurable, but, among the various measures available, the analysis of waste water plants represents one of the most reliable source of data. We analyzed waste water in order to monitor illicit drug use by local population. We investigated the use of cocaine and heroin in the city of Florence, Italy, over a 1-year (July 2006-June 2007) period using state-of-the-art measuring techniques from waste water samples. Cocaine, benzoylecgonine, and morphine were determined in water samples by gas chromatography-mass spectrometer, and the amount of illicit substance was estimated. Data indicate for cocaine a bimodal distribution (December and March), while heroin showed a main peak in April. The heroin-to-cocaine use ratio in terms of estimated doses per month ranged from 0.11 to 0.76, representing new evidence of wider distribution of cocaine than heroin in Florence. Waste water analysis can become a valuable tool in monitoring use of illicit drugs over time. In particular, it can highlight changes in the magnitude and relative use of illicit drug at a population level thereby becoming useful to develop strategies against drug trafficking and abuse. If routinely performed, it can be part of Epidemiologic Surveillance Programmes on drug abuse.

Topics: Cocaine; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Heroin; Humans; Illicit Drugs; Italy; Morphine; Narcotics; Seasons; Substance-Related Disorders; Waste Disposal, Fluid; Water

A sensitive and specific method is presented to simultaneously quantify methadone, heroin, cocaine and metabolites in sweat. Drugs were eluted from sweat patches with sodium acetate buffer, followed by SPE and quantification by GC/MS with electron impact ionization and selected ion monitoring. Daily calibration for anhydroecgonine methyl ester, ecgonine methyl ester, cocaine, benzoylecgonine (BE), codeine, morphine, 6-acetylcodeine, 6-acetylmorphine (6AM), heroin (5-1000 ng/patch) and methadone (10-1000 ng/patch) achieved determination coefficients of >0.995, and calibrators quantified to within +/-20% of the target concentrations. Extended calibration curves (1000-10,000 ng/patch) were constructed for methadone, cocaine, BE and 6AM by modifying injection techniques. Within (N = 5) and between-run (N = 20) imprecisions were calculated at six control levels across the dynamic ranges with coefficients of variation of <6.5%. Accuracies at these concentrations were +/-11.9% of target. Heroin hydrolysis during specimen processing was <11%. This novel assay offers effective monitoring of drug exposure during drug treatment, workplace and criminal justice monitoring programs.

Topics: Cocaine; Codeine; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Heroin; Humans; Methadone; Morphine Derivatives; Solid Phase Extraction; Sweat

The illicit transportation of cocaine and heroin either swallowed or inserted into the rectum and/or vagina of individuals, defined as "body-packers", is becoming increasingly common. Assessment of smuggling by urinalysis from body-packers has been sparsely reported and on-site rapid screening methods are essentially lacking. We screened the presence of cocaine and heroin metabolites in urine from suspected body-packers by an on-site immunochromatographic test and confirmed the obtained results by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and X-ray examination. Samples were collected from 64 individuals (45 men, 19 women) stopped at Fiumicino and Ciampino airports of Rome (Italy) for suspicion of internal concealment of cocaine and heroin between October 2006 and July 2007. Urine was immediately screened on-site by Cozart rapid urine test. Irrespective of test results, individuals underwent X-ray examination and urine samples were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In 48 out of 64 cases (24 positives and 24 negatives) screening results were confirmed by GC-MS assay and X-ray examination. In 5 cases, positive to the on-site test and GC-MS analysis, abdominal radiography was negative and individuals resulted to be drug users. In 11 cases, negative to the on-site test and radiological investigation, GC-MS analysis found benzoylecgonine in 10 cases and morphine in one case. Concentration of both substances was in all cases lower than 50ng/ml and compatible with personal drug use. From obtained results, on-site detection of cocaine and heroin metabolites in the urine of suspected body-packers appears to be a reliable screening test to disclose internally concealed drugs and justify subsequent radiological investigations.

Topics: Adult; Cocaine; Female; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Heroin; Humans; Male

The coupling of capillary electrophoresis-electrospray ionization and time-of-flight mass spectrometry, combining efficiency and speed of separation with high mass accuracy and fast scanning capability, was for the first time applied to the determination of drugs of abuse (amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDA, MDMA, ephedrine, cocaine, morphine, codeine) and their metabolites in hair (6-MAM, benzoylecgonine). Experimental conditions were as follows. Separation: voltage 15 kV, uncoated fused-silica capillary (75 microm ID, 100 cm total length), running electrolyte 25 mM ammonium formate, pH 9.5, field-amplified sample stacking injection. Forensic drugs could be identified by exact mass determination (mass accuracy typically < or = 5 ppm) and by match of the isotopic pattern. The method was fully validated, showing limit of detections (LODs) suitable for the determination of all the compounds below the cut-off usually adopted for hair analysis (0.1 ng/mg). Analytical precision in real matrices (tested at 0.1 and 1.0 ng/mg) was typically characterized by CV's < or = 24% in both intra-day and day-to-day experiments. Quantitative determination was also tested by using a single internal standard (folcodine). Results, although with a moderate accuracy, conceivably depending on the lack of deuterated internal standards, proved useful for diagnostic use of the results from hair analysis. A single liquid-liquid extraction procedure was applied for all analytes, allowing the detection of a broad spectrum of basic drugs and their major metabolites.

Topics: Amphetamine; Cocaine; Electrophoresis, Capillary; Ephedrine; Forensic Medicine; Hair; Heroin; Humans; Illicit Drugs; Morphine; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; Substance Abuse Detection

A simple and sensitive direct injection chromatographic procedure is developed for the determination of heroin, two of its metabolites (morphine and 6-monoacetylmorphine (6-MAM)), and benzoylecgonine (a metabolite of cocaine) in serum samples. The proper resolution of the four substances is obtained with a chemometrics approach, where the retention is modelled as a first step using the retention factors obtained in a limited number of mobile phases. Afterwards, an optimisation criterion that takes into account the position and shape of the chromatographic peaks is applied. The mobile phase selected to carry out the analysis was 0.1 mol L(-1) SDS-4% (v/v) butanol buffered at pH 7, in which the separation is performed in less than 18 min. The limits of quantification were in the 17-36 ng mL(-1) range. Intra- and inter-day assay accuracy and precision (below 3%) were obtained following ICH guidelines. The method developed was applied to the determination of the drugs studied in serum samples with good recoveries (90-104%). Serum samples from subjects that have been ingested cocaine and heroin were also analysed. The samples were injected directly in the chromatographic system without any pretreatment.

Topics: Chromatography, Liquid; Cocaine; Heroin; Micelles; Morphine; Morphine Derivatives; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity

Two types of immunoassays, radioimmunoassay (RIA) and microplate enzyme immunoassay (EIA), were compared for their ability to detect and quantitate cocaine and metabolites or heroin and metabolites in extracts of sweat patches. Experiments used sweat patches that had been fortified with cocaine, benzoylecgonine (BE), and ecgonine methyl ester (EME) or 6-acetylmorphine (6-AM), heroin, and morphine. Assays were first evaluated for sensitivity in detection of the analyte(s) known to be excreted in sweat (cocaine >> BE and EME; 6-AM > heroin > morphine). The cocaine metabolite RIA had cross-reactivity for cocaine > BE > EME, and the cocaine metabolite EIA had cross-reactivity for BE > cocaine >> EME. The RIA, having greater sensitivity for COC, was studied further. Optimal linearity was 4 to 200 ng/patch, and quantitation within these limits at 4, 75, and 150 ng/patch had intrarun %CVs within 7.8% and percent targets within 15% and inter-run %CVs within 13.5% and % targets within 13%. The opiate RIA had cross-reactivities for morphine >> 6-AM and heroin. The opiate EIA had cross-reactivities for 6-AM and heroin of 42 and 28% relative to morphine, respectively. The EIA, having greater sensitivity for 6-AM and heroin, was studied further. The limits of detection ranged from 1.7 to 24.7 ng/patch, and the lower limits of quantitation ranged from 7.3 ng/patch to beyond the linear range. The assay, however, had consistently good precision at 4 and 5 ng/patch, and optimal linearity was established from 4 to 100 ng/patch. With controls at 5, 25, and 90 ng/patch, both intrarun and inter-run precision were acceptable. Quantitation was accurate at 5 and 25 ng/patch, but the 90 ng/patch controls were consistently < 70% of target. Because our studies focused on the assays that had greater sensitivity for the analytes excreted in sweat, we did not fully evaluate the cocaine metabolite EIA or the RIA opiate screen and therefore cannot make any comment on the usefulness of these assays for detecting analytes in extracts of sweat patches beyond predicting that they will have less sensitivity. Both the cocaine metabolite RIA and opiate EIA had the ability to detect analytes known to be extracted from sweat patches.

Topics: Cocaine; Heroin; Humans; Immunoenzyme Techniques; Morphine; Morphine Derivatives; Narcotics; Radioimmunoassay; Substance Abuse Detection; Sweat

In a series of licit and illicit drug-related deaths, qualitative and quantitative analyses on extracts of adipose tissue and skin were performed by GC/MS. In all cases, the adipose tissue was found to contain drugs at concentrations lower than, approximately equal to, or even greater than the concentrations of the same analytes found in the blood, which may reflect a consequence of long-term chronic exposure, or acute intoxication, or some combination of both. Approximately one cubic inch of skin with adipose tissue was removed from the mid to lower abdominal region adjacent to the midline incision during autopsy. The drugs were recovered from the specimens following incubation and alkaline, acidic, and alkaline chloroform back extraction of one to three grams of tissue. Deuterated analogs of the analytes were added to the matrix at the beginning of the incubation period. Cocaine and free morphine (from heroin) were readily identified in several cases. The presence of these illicit drugs in adipose tissue raises significant forensic questions, especially the use of 'sweat patches' to monitor recent cocaine or heroin use in chronic drug users.

Topics: Adipose Tissue; Cocaine; Cocaine-Related Disorders; Deuterium; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Heroin; Heroin Dependence; Humans; Illicit Drugs; Male; Morphine; Narcotics; Opioid-Related Disorders; Radiopharmaceuticals; Skin; Substance Abuse Detection; Sweat

An analytical method for the determination of heroin, 6-monoacetylmorphine, morphine, codeine, cocaine, benzoylecgonine, and cocaethylene in human hair using gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry is presented. The analytes were extracted from finely cut hair with methanol at 56 degrees C for 18 h in the presence of nalorphine as the internal standard. After the incubation, methanol was evaporated to dryness, and all the analytes, except heroin, cocaine, and cocaethylene, were converted to their trimethylsilyl derivatives. The reaction products were identified and quantitated using product ions formed from the parent ions by collision-induced dissociation in the ion-trap mass spectrometer. This method provided excellent sensitivity and specificity for analytes at the concentrations usually found in the keratin matrix.

Topics: Cocaine; Codeine; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Hair; Heroin; Humans; Indicators and Reagents; Morphine; Morphine Derivatives; Narcotics; Reference Standards; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Substance Abuse Detection; Substance-Related Disorders; Trimethylsilyl Compounds

A procedure is presented for the simultaneous identification and quantification of morphine (MOR), codeine (COD), ethylmorphine (EM), 6-monoacetylmorphine (6-MAM), cocaine (COC), benzoylecgonine (BZE), ecgonine methylester (EME) and cocaethylene (CE), contained in the hair of opiates and cocaine addicts. The method involves decontamination in dichloromethane, pulverization in a ball mill, heat-acid hydrolysis, addition of deuterated internal standards, liquid-liquid extraction and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) after silylation. The limit of detection (LOD) was approximately 0.1-0.8 ng/mg for each drug, using a 30-mg hair sample. The method is reproductible, with a coefficient of variation (CV) of approximately 8-17%. Cocaine and 6-monoacetylmorphine were the major compounds detected in cases of cocaine (14 cases) and heroin (68 cases) intake. Concentrations were in the range 0.4-78.4 ng/mg (COC), 0.0-36.3 ng/mg (BZE), 0.0-1.6 ng/mg (EME), 0.0-2.1 ng/mg (CE), 0.0-84.3 ng/mg (6-MAM), 0.2-27.1 ng/mg (MOR) and 0.1-19.6 ng/mg (COD). An application in forensic sciences, involving multi-sectional analysis, is given.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Calibration; Cocaine; Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors; Drug Overdose; Ethylmorphine; Female; Forensic Medicine; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Hair; Heroin; Humans; Male; Morphine; Morphine Derivatives; Narcotics; Reproducibility of Results

This work studies the distribution of cocaine and heroin metabolites in hair and urine of living polidrug abusers. Cocaine, benzoylecgonine (BEG), ecgonine methyl ester (EME), morphine, codeine and 6-monoacetylmorphine (6-MAM) were simultaneously extracted and analyzed by GC/MS in SIM mode. The results obtained show a different distribution of heroin and cocaine metabolites in urine and hair. In urine, we generally find BEG and EME for cocaine abuse, and morphine for heroin abuse. In hair, we detect cocaine and MAM as major metabolites for cocaine and heroin abuse, respectively.

Topics: Cocaine; Codeine; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Hair; Heroin; Humans; Morphine; Morphine Derivatives; Narcotics; Substance-Related Disorders

The present paper reports a method for the simultaneous extraction of cocaine, heroin and their metabolites from small amounts of urine (0.5 ml), using deuterated internal standards. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) on C18 columns followed by chromatographic separation coupled with mass spectrometry allowed the detection of all the substances after their derivatization. Mass spectrometry was performed in the electron-impact selected-ion monitoring (EI-SIM) mode. The limit of detection was found to be as low as 50 ng/ml for all the analytes; for reproducibility the C.V. was always better than 7%; the method was found to be linear with correlation coefficients between 0.989 and 1.00.

Topics: Cocaine; Deuterium; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Heroin; Humans; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Microchemistry; Morphine Derivatives; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity

The analysis of hair for drugs of abuse reveals information regarding past drug exposure. We developed methods for washing, extraction and analysis of hair samples for cocaine, heroin and metabolites. Twenty paired head- and arm-hair samples, collected from known heroin/cocaine abusers, were analyzed with a new comprehensive GC/MS assay for cocaine, heroin and metabolites. Cocaine and 6-acetylmorphine (6-AM) were the major analytes present in both head- and arm-hair samples. Cocaine was detected in all head- and 17 arm-hair samples. The concentration of cocaine found was 4-760 ng/10 mg in head hair and 0-1090 ng/10 mg in arm hair. Less benzoylecgonine was present in a concentration range of 0-158 ng/10 mg of head hair and 0-125 ng/10 mg of arm hair. Heroin was found in only 2 head-hair samples, whereas 6-AM was present in 14 head and 6 arm-hair samples. The concentration of 6-AM was 0-8 ng/10 mg in head hair and 0-31 ng/10 mg in arm hair. Morphine was present in 3 head-hair samples in a range of 2-9 ng/10 mg and was not detected in arm-hair samples. When results were compared by groups (head hair versus arm hair, Caucasoid versus Africoid), only two significant differences were found. Cocaine concentrations in both head and arm hair were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in the Africoid group than in the Caucasoid group. The reasons for these differences were not readily apparent, but could have been due to differences in the level of cocaine use or to ethnic differences in the deposition of drug in hair.

Topics: Adult; Arm; Black People; Cocaine; Female; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Hair; Head; Heroin; Humans; Illicit Drugs; Male; Substance Abuse Detection; White People

The presence of opiates and benzoylecgonine, the major metabolite of cocaine, in the urine was detected by means of enzyme immunoassay in a series of 120 smugglers who had either ingested or inserted into their rectum cocaine or heroin packaged for transportation. There was a striking relation between the presence of drugs in the urine and swallowing of drug-filled bundles (cocaine 49 of 50 cases, heroin 9 of 10). The proportion of positive results was also high in cases of rectal insertion (cocaine 2 of 2, heroin 35 of 58). In 30 cases of cocaine-packet ingestion, serial measurements showed that the accuracy of the test progressively decreased with respect to the detection of residual packets in the body. Drug detection in the urine of suspected body-packers seems to be a useful test, positive results justifying subsequent radiological investigations.

Topics: Cocaine; Crime; Evaluation Studies as Topic; Foreign Bodies; Foreign-Body Migration; Heroin; Humans; Immunoenzyme Techniques; Morphine; Radiography; Rectum