Sample types

Urine

Smoked, snorted or injected > drug > blood > metabolised in liver > excreted in urine

Oral Fluid

Smoked or injected > drug > blood > distributed around the body> saliva

Snorted > drug > mouth > saliva

Hair

When a person takes a drug/s they are absorbed into their blood stream and circulated around the body. While the drugs are in the blood stream they are fed into the follicle of the hair, each of which has its own blood supply in order to provide it with the nutrients it needs to grow.

As the hair grows the drugs from the blood, supplied via the hair follicle, are incorporated and locked within the hair. As the hair continues to grow it will lock in any more drugs taken and create a record of drug use. Once the drugs are incorporated into the hair they remain almost permanently.

Utilising different types of analysis, such as a month-by-month analysis, can allow for trends in drug use to be highlighted, for example increasing or decreasing levels.

We also have facilities for a blood alcohol test should this be required.

* Mechanisms of drug incorporation into hair, journal article available, do not hold a copy.
*Paterson, S., Cordero, R., Stearns, E,. 2009. Chronic drug use confirmed by hair analysis: Its role in understanding both the medical cause of death and the circumstances surrounding the death. Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, 16, pp. 143–147 (Hair analysis patterson JFLM 09)
* Mieczkowski, T,. 2005. Hair Analysis, pp. 183-191.

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