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Screening for Marijuana and Cocaine Abuse by Immunoanalysis and Gas Chromatography
Author(s) -
GarciaJimenez Sara,
HerediaLezama Karina,
BilbaoMarcos Fernando,
FuentesLara Griselda,
MonroyNoyola Antonio,
DecigaCampos Myrna
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1196/annals.1432.018
Subject(s) - benzoylecgonine , drugs of abuse , population , urine , gas chromatography , addiction , chromatography , substance abuse , medicine , chemistry , psychology , psychiatry , environmental health
Drug abuse among college students is characterized by lower academic performance and long‐term negative consequences. Screening to detect students at high risk of consuming drugs is of primary importance to insure early identification and appropriate levels of care. As a result, this study aimed to determine the current or past use of drug abuse through a questionnaire applied to a student population at the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos. The results were confirmed by immunoanalysis and gas chromatography of urine. We interviewed 181 students aged 15 to 21 (gender was not considered in this study), and urine samples were collected for analytical analysis. For detection of metabolites Delta9‐THCA‐A and benzoylecgonine from marijuana and cocaine, respectively, a homogenous enzymatic inmmunoanalysis was used; subsequent samples were analyzed by a mass spectrometer with quadrupole detector. Seven samples of the total (181) did not completely fit the inclusion criteria and were eliminated. The results showed 0.50% and 1.16% positive samples for benzoylecgonine and Delta9‐THCA‐A, respectively. These results are not different from those of the National Questionnaire on Addiction. We can establish a program for detecting drug consumption in our students. This kind of study is important in order to implement programs that can help us to decrease the abuse of drugs in our college population.