[GC-MS analysis of methamphetamine and amphetamine in hair of Thai drug addicts]

Abstract

Psycho-stimulant dependence in young individuals has become a serious problem in Thailand, where consumption of the so-called YaBa methamphetamine tablets has become a fashionable trend. Due to its easy availability in the form of a tablet, young individuals abuse methamphetamine. Methamphetamine tablets are known to be potently addictive and its difficulty in cessation of drug use and to be abstinent from the drug. We herein report the results obtained from GC-MS analysis of methamphetamine and amphetamine in 33 samples of urine and hair from patients with psycho-stimulant dependence. These samples were collected from patients registered at the outpatient clinic in the Department of Psychiatry, Chiang Mai University Hospital and were sent to Nippon Medical School, Department of Legal Medicine (Tokyo, Japan) for further analysis by Dr. Werawan Ruangyttikarn, Department of Forensic Medicine, Chiang Mai University. Sample preparation: Hairs samples were cropped near the hair root. After washing, they were cut into 1.2-cm sections and extracted with methanol/5N HCl (2:1) for an hour and then, solid-phase extraction was conducted using Bond-Elut Certify. Following extraction, GC-MS analysis was performed. Urine samples were subjected to GC-MS analysis after preparation with Bond Elut Certify.

Results and discussion: In 6 samples, both urine and hair samples analyzed were negative for detection of the stimulant drugs. In those cases individuals might stop taking drug for about 5 months. In 18 samples, urine samples were negative whereas hair samples were positive. These results suggest that individuals might stop using drugs for a few days before they went to the hospital but they abuse drugs continuously. In 9 samples, both urine and hair samples were positive. These results show that individuals always abuse drugs. In order to treat drug dependence effectively it is necessary to obtain the patient history of drug use and to evaluate and determine short-term and long-term drug use with urinalysis and hair analysis, respectively. Our present data revealed that useful information concerned with the long term drug abuse can be obtained from hair analysis, and that this method of analysis is applicable not only to forensic cases but also for evaluating clinical cases.