OSHP Services

The drugs of abuse tested by the Drug Chemistry Section can belong to the following classes of drugs:

• Stimulants – This category of drugs can consist of compounds such as cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, khat and substituted cathinones (bath salts or flakka).
• Opioids and Opiates – This category of drugs can consist of prescription drugs namely oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl, codeine and methadone. It also includes non-prescription drug such as heroin.
• Depressants and sedatives – This category of drugs can consist of prescription drugs including alprazolam, diazepam, clonazepam and zolpidem.
• Hallucinogens – This category of drugs can consist of compounds such as LSD, MDMA (Molly or ecstasy), hallucinogenic mushrooms, marihuana and synthetic marihuana (K2 or spice).
• Anabolic steroids – This category of drugs consists of testosterone and other structurally related anabolic steroids.
• Inhalants – Not traditionally considered a class of drugs, gaseous dangerous compounds such as nitrous oxide belong to this category.

NOTE: The list of compounds above is not an all-inclusive list of the compounds that are identified by the Drug Chemistry section. Questions about specific drugs should be forwarded to the laboratory.

All testing methods used by the Drug Chemistry Section meet the standards established by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol Drug Chemistry Section utilizes Best Evidence Selected for Testing (BEST) for internal customers only. BEST allows the analysis of the highest penalty item in a case, excludes the lower penalty items, and reduces the turnaround time. If BEST is used on a case, the report will indicate that this selection technique was utilized. If testing is needed on the excluded items, an email should be sent to the laboratory. The excluded items will be tested upon receipt of the email.

• Organic substances including plants and plant material should be dried before submitting them to the laboratory for testing. Wet plants and plant material quickly degrade to a state where identification of the material can be compromised. If non-dried material must be submitted to the laboratory, it is recommended the item be packaged in paper containers to slow the degradation process.
• Liquids should be submitted in sealed, leak resistant containers. The Drug Chemistry Section cannot identify specific liquids and will only test them for the possible presence of a controlled substance.
• Syringes and other potentially hazardous sharp items must be submitted in puncture resistant packaging. Proper packaging protects personnel when handling these items. Syringes and other hazardous sharp items will not be tested by the Drug Chemistry section if other controlled substance items are also present in the case.
• Suspected submissions of khat should be marked "khat" on the submission form. Khat degrades rapidly if the material is not kept frozen. The laboratory will keep all known or suspected khat cases in a frozen state during storage.

Items not properly sealed will need to be corrected before they are accepted and logged into the laboratory.

Qualitative Analysis: Two (2) dissimilar tests, a presumptive test and a confirmation test, are conducted to conclude the presence or absence of the drugs included in the laboratory’s test menu. The laboratory report will reflect the presence of a drug as Positive. (ex. Tramadol Positive) Positive findings are reported ONLY if both dissimilar tests conducted support the same conclusion.

Quantitative Analysis: Two (2) dissimilar tests, a presumptive test and a confirmation test, are conducted to conclude the presence or absence of the drugs included in the laboratory’s test menu. Positive results are quantitatively measured to reflect the amount of drug present. The laboratory report will reflect the name of the drug present and the amount of drug present. A calculated range of uncertainty will accompany all quantitative results. (ex. Cocaine 535.20 ng/mL +/- 37.46 ng/mL). Positive findings are reported ONLY if both dissimilar tests conducted support the same conclusion.

The test menu for this laboratory includes both therapeutic drugs and drugs of abuse. Some of the included drugs and drug classes are:

• Per se drugs (ORC 4511.19)
  • Sympathomimetic Amines (SMA): amphetamine, methamphetamine, etc.
  • Cocaine and Benzoylecgonine (metabolite) Cannabinoids (MJ): parent drug and metabolites Phencyclidine (PCP), Heroin metabolite (6MAM)
    
• Therapeutic Drugs:
  • Opiates: morphine, codeine, hydrocodone, oxycodone
  • Benzodiazepines: diazepam, alprazolam, clonazepam, lorazepam, etc. Buprenorphine (suboxone)
  • Barbiturates: butalbital, phenobarbital, secobarbital
  • Additional analgesics: fentanyl, methadone, tramadol, etc. Muscle Relaxants / Sedatives: Soma, Zolpidem, etc

The laboratory routinely conducts quantitative analyses for the presence of ethanol (drinking alcohol) within biological specimens utilizing headspace gas chromatography. Non-biological specimens such as beverages may be analyzed for the presence of ethanol as well.

This laboratory follows strict guidelines and validated methods to produce legally defensible results for all analyses conducted. The methods utilized meet the standards established by the American Society of Crime Lab Directors/ Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB), as well as the guidelines set forth in the Ohio Administrative Code.

This laboratory does not currently have the methodology to conduct testing for the following in biological specimens:

• Synthetic Cannabinoids
• Bath Salts
• “Huffing” cases
• DFSA cases (drug facilitated sexual assault)

Samples requiring these types of analyses should not be sent to this laboratory.

Urine Advantages

1. Wide retention time window – drugs are retained in the urine much longer than in the blood; provides insight into what the person has taken hours, even days before; best suited to demonstrate prior drug abuse or exposure
2. Easy to obtain; typically large amount provided
3. Heroin use - urine is the BEST sample when heroin is suspected; able to target heroin metabolite (6MAM) to definitively show heroin use. Blood has EXTREMELY short retention times for heroin and metabolite; often gone in minutes

Urine Disadvantages

1. Quantitative results for prescription drugs (non per se drugs) in urine ARE NOT MEANINGFUL, other than to say the person had the drug(s) in his/her system. No conclusions as to impairment or prescription level can be drawn from urine results
2. Officer observations and/or other indicators of impairment are a must with a urine specimen

Blood Advantages

1. Indicative of more recent drug usage; at time of incident
2. Quantitative results ARE MEANINGFUL in blood; results can be evaluated to determine therapeutic and/or impairment levels
3. Able to detect drugs at lower levels

Blood Disadvantages

1. More difficult to obtain; invasive
2. Limited retention time window – drugs are retained in blood for much shorter periods of time; difficult to detect
3. Dirty sample; requires more clean up prior to analysis
4. Small amount of sample typically collected