Re: Hair analysis (was: Drug Testing in Child Protection Cases)+

["Randall Webber" <rwebber@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Be careful using hair analysis to determine drug use.  The last time I
checked, there was a racial bias to the hair test.  Apparently, the drugs
bind to hair color pigment, and dark hair holds more drug than lighter
hair.  Also, it seems that drugs enter in hair thorough the sebaceous
glands, which secrete sebum, the waxy substance that makes hair oily. Thus,
people with dark, oily hair would be more likely to be identified than
those with lighter, drier hair.  

Have the researchers determined whether psychoactive drugs end up in hair
through passive exposure, and the extent to which this occurs?  Obviously,
anyone who is relying on a hair test for the presence of abused drugs will
want to be sure that the client actually used the drug rather than just
being around people who use.  

There are other issues related to hair analysis which concern me, but the
two above are the most serious.

-Randy Webber    

J. Randall Webber, M.P.H. <rwebber@chestnut.org>
Director of Training and Publications
Lighthouse Institute
Chestnut Health Systems
720 W. Chestnut St
Bloomington, IL  67101
309/827-6026    309/829-4661 (fax)
http://www.chestnut.org

----------
> From: BRubin525@aol.com
> To: Child Maltreatment Researchers  
<CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu>
> Subject: Re: Drug Testing in Child Protection Cases
> Date: Thursday, August 20, 1998 9:15 AM
> 
> I often recommend that hair analysis is a much better way to tell if
someone
> has been doing drugs.  It is hard to cheat using this method whereas
urine is
> easy to fake the results.  I don;'t use it in child welfare cases because
the
> county won't pay due to the increased cost of hair analysis.  Bart Rubin,
> Ph.D.