PMID: 9544560Apr 17, 1998Paper

Evidence of polydrug use using hair analysis: a fatal case involving heroin, cocaine, cannabis, chloroform, thiopental and ketamine

Journal of Forensic Sciences
Y Gaillard, G Pépin

Abstract

A case is presented involving a young woman on several illicit drugs (heroin, cocaine and cannabis) as well as two medications and a solvent used for their anesthetic and narcotic properties: thiopental, ketamine and chloroform. This complex drug use was supported by hair analysis over a 10.5 cm segment of the hair taken at autopsy. The average measured concentrations in hair were: thiopental = 5.3 ng/mg, pentobarbital = 10.0 ng/mg, ketamine = 11.3 ng/mg norketamine = 1.0 ng/mg, diazepam = 1.2 ng/mg, nordiazepam = 0.1 ng/mg, 6-acetylmorphine = 4.4 ng/mg, morphine = 3.4 ng/mg, codeine = 1.2 ng/mg, cocaine = 5.5 ng/mg, benzoylecgonine = 1.5 ng/mg and methylecgonine ester = 1.0 ng/mg. While the ketamine/norketamine ratio is consistent with that already reported on drug detection in hair, the thiopental/pentobarbital ratio seems to be inverted.

Citations

May 14, 2003·Forensic Science International : Synergy·Giampietro FrisonSanto Davide Ferrara
May 24, 2006·International Journal of Toxicology·Vassiliki A BoumbaTheodore Vougiouklakis
Sep 30, 2016·Forensic Science International : Synergy·Eunyoung HanHeesun Chung
Dec 17, 2009·Journal of Psychoactive Drugs·Heather Schacht ReisingerMichael H Agar

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