An evaluation of the results of a drug sample analysis

Abstract

An analysis of drug samples received by the National Toxicology Institute at Madrid during the period from September 1985 to May 1987 was undertaken with a view to carrying out an epidemiological assessment of drug abuse. Of 414 street drug samples, 63.5 per cent contained heroin, 12.5 per cent cocaine, 8.5 per cent amphetamine and 15.4 per cent other substances. The concentration of heroin ranged from 21 to 60 per cent in most of the samples (91.8 per cent) that contained it. Similar concentrations of cocaine were found in the samples containing that substance. Adulterants were detected in 78.8 per cent of the samples containing heroin, 59.6 per cent of the samples containing cocaine and 56 per cent of the samples containing amphetamine. The most common adulterants in the samples containing heroin were caffeine (68.4 per cent), phenobarbital (19.7 per cent), methaqualone (13.4 per cent) and procaine (13.4 per cent), while lidocaine was the most common adulterant (52 per cent) in the samples containing cocaine.