2007 National Roadside Survey of Alcohol and Drug Use by Drivers

2007 National Roadside Survey of Alcohol and Drug Use by Drivers: Drug ResultsBlood Sample Analysis ProceduresUpon receipt of the specimens by the testing facility, screening analysis for 10 percent of thesample was carried out using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) at the cut-offconcentrations described in Table 13. The remaining 90 percent of the sample was stored at 4°centigrade until funding was provided for their analysis. Again, specific drugs tested are shownin Table 13. Screen positive specimens were confirmed using either gas chromatography withmass spectral detection (GC/MS) or liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectral detection(LC/MS/MS). All methods were fully validated according to good laboratory practices. Seeabove for instrumentation.Ethanol (Oral Fluid and Blood)Screen positive alcohol specimens were sent for confirmation to BioTox Laboratories orImmunalysis Corporation.Instrumentation:Perkin-Elmer: Model F-45 Gas Chromatograph.Flame ionization detector (FID).0.2 percent Carbowax 1500 Graphpac-GC, 80/100 column (6 ft. x 1/8 in. ID).Extraction:Whole blood or 1:3 buffered oral fluid (0.1 mL), add 1 mL double deionized watercontaining 0.1 percent propanol.Analyzed using headspace GC/FID.Drug Classes and CategoriesDue to the large number of drugs tested, results were consolidated into drug classes andcategories. Drug classes are defined according to potential drug effects and include stimulants,sedatives, marijuana, antidepressants, narcotic analgesics, and other. Drugs were separatelycategorized as illegal, prescription, and over-the-counter. 12 13 Though some drugs could logicallyfall into more than one category, we made the categories mutually exclusive and assigned eachdrug to only one category. This approach facilitates clear presentation of results.Tables 17 and 18 present drug classes and categories. In the tables, the shaded entries indicatedrugs that were identified only through blood analyses. The non-shaded entries are drugs thatwere identified through both oral fluid and blood analyses.12 Drugs may be classified in different ways depending on the use of the classification system. For example, inNHTSA’s drug evaluation and classification (DEC) program the categories CNS Depressants, CNS Stimulants,Hallucinogens, Dissociative Anesthetic (PCP), Narcotic Analgesics, Inhalants, and Cannabis are used.13 Due to relative small sample sizes and for analytical purposes, the over-the-counter and prescription categorieswere further collapsed into a single category (“Medications”)33