Citation

Kauert GF. Blutalkohol 2000; 37(2): 76-83.

Affiliation

Zentrum der Rechtsmedizin, Abt. II, D-60596 Frankfurt, Germany

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, International Committee on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety and Bund gegen Alkohol und Drogen im Straßenverkehr, Publisher Steintor Verlag)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The increasing discovery of drug influenced car drivers makes a simple and save drug testing in a body fluid, optimally at the road side, necessary. Due to this background the saliva attracted the attention of toxicologists because this body fluid can be obtained non invasively and prevent the Invasion of privacy. In cooperation with the hessische high way police we conducted a study with saliva samples, which were given voluntary by car drivers who were suspected because of driving a car under the influence of illicit drugs (137 cases). These saliva samples were taken together with the obligate blood sampling of the offenders. The saliva and blood samples were analysed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry and the results compared. The concentrations found for basic drags exhibited high to extreme saliva/serum ratios which could not be explained by physiological effects alone but by oral contaminations after oral, intranasal or smoking routes of application. The cannabinoids particularly delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol were found to be adsorbed to high degree at the cotton material, which could be desorbed by treatment of the cotton with methanol and then detected in the saliva. Under the present conditions saliva cannot be recommended as a body fluid for drug testing by the police.