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Drug Testing and Analysis

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Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Mario Thevis
Print ISSN: 1942-7603 Online ISSN: 1942-7611
Impact Factor: 2.993

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Medicine & Healthcare


August 18, 2014

Marijuana in Children’s Hair: What Does It Tell Us?

 

A recent Drug Testing and Analysis study has found that most of the cannabinoids detected in hair samples from children come from contaminated hands or surfaces and not from inhalation or secondhand smoke.

The results are relevant to child protection cases, when it is helpful to evaluate whether children are directly exposed to drugs in order to evaluate health risks. In cases of positive findings in children’s hair, it has to be carefully differentiated whether the drug was administered to the child for sedation purposes, the drug was consumed in the presence of the child leading to passive uptake by the child, or the drug was consumed in the absence of the child. All three scenarios bear different health risks for the child.

“Hair analysis in forensic toxicology is very complex, and there are still a lot of questions to be answered. Although it undoubtedly provides useful information, the results have to be interpreted with utmost care, particularly in cases where serious consequences are pending like in child protection issues or workplace drug testing programs,” said senior author Prof. Volker Auwärter.