Use in Forensic Toxicology
Hair analysis is also used for the detection of many therapeutic drugs and recreational drugs, including cocaine, heroin, benzodiazepines and amphetamines. In this context, it has been reliably used to determine compliance with therapeutic drug regimes or to check the accuracy of a witness statement that an illicit drug has not been taken. Hair testing is an increasingly common method of assessment in substance misuse, particularly in legal proceedings, or in any situation where a subject may have decided not to tell the entire truth about his or her substance-using history.
In December 1995 the Society of Hair Testing was founded to promote the research in hair testing technologies in forensic, clinical and occupational sciences, to develop the international proficiency tests, to organize meetings and workshops and to encourage the scientific cooperation and exchanges among members. The Board of the Society of Hair Testing agreed upon the latest version of a Consensus in Sevilla, Spain, in 2004.
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