Drugs of Abuse in Hair (DAH)
"... featuring real 2 to 3mm cuts of human hair"
Drugs and their metabolites become incorporated in hair when ingested. Analysis for these drug residues can provide a useful assessment of an individual’s intake of drugs over a prolonged period of time, as the residence time of drugs in hair is significantly greater than for other samples commonly tested - such as blood, urine, and saliva. The advantages of analysing hair samples for the presence of drugs include: a large window of detection, the assessment of the regularity of drug use (or continued abstinence), and sample stability. Drugs of Abuse in Hair (DAH) proficiency testing programme is suitable for laboratories performing forensic analysis of hair for drugs of abuse and provides an independent assessment of measurement quality. The test materials that we provide consist of real cut (2 to 3mm pieces) human hair that has been declared free from common drugs of abuse, to which the analytes of interest are then incorporated. Drugs (and/or metabolites) from 6 major classes are included during the scheme year. The operation of the scheme is supported by an Advisory Group consisting of members of professional bodies, scheme participants, and others experienced in the field.
