Passive exposure to cocaine. A study around cut off levels

At FTS we report on all findings in drug and alcohol testing – not just those which are simply above or below a cut off level.  This is an interesting study, examining passive exposure to Cocaine, providing further evidence that cut off levels alone are not appropriate in hair testing.  This is even more critical in the context of family court!

Conclusion
The obtained results show a good correlation between the level of passive exposure to cocaine and the concentrations in hair. This preliminary study demonstrates that the cut-off values for cocaine should not be applied as a sole criterion.  Following other parameters are mandatory to be considered too: case context, cut-off-values, cocaine versus metabolites, hair versus washing concentrations ratios, and the presence of more specific metabolites such as cocaethylene, and hydroxy metabolites.

 

See article from Science Direct below

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352007822001081