Retrospective analysis of laboratory data from 19,275 hair samples submitted for drug abuse/misuse analysis from February 2019 to June 2021

Abstract

Drug abuse/misuse is now a major global problem affecting public health as well as economic and social stability. This study presents a retrospective view of the prevalence of drugs in hair. Reasons for hair testing include the need for law enforcement to test suspicious individuals and the need for employers in specific industries to test their employees. Toxicology analysis results were reviewed for a total of 19,275 hair samples requested for drug abuse/misuse analysis at the Academy of Forensic Science over 29 months from February 2019 to June 2021. Drugs and their metabolites in hair samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography – tandem mass spectrometry. In the study, the 19,275 hair samples were screened for a total of 62 illegal drugs, which were divided into three categories: illegal-drugs (I), medication (II), and new psychoactive substances (III). These three categories contain 11, 29 and 22 drugs respectively. In these hair samples, 4852 (25.2 %) tested positive for one or more drugs. Among them, the positive rate of category I was the highest (48.7 %), followed by category II (28.5 %), and category III (22.7 %). Over all, the positive rate of male users (26.2 %) was higher than that of female users (23.7 %), and most of them were young people (25–44 years old). Illegal-drugs (morphine, etc.) had the highest positive rate. Under the influence of some certain factors, the drug abuse situation will also undergo corresponding changes. The results can provide a scientific knowledge database which can help in the prevention of drug abuse.