Hair Analysis for Cannabinoids and Amphetamines in a Psychosis Incidence Study

    February 2002 in “ European Neuropsychopharmacology ”
    Jean‐Paul Selten, Ingrid J. Bosman, Didier G. Ebo, Natalie D. Veen, Yolanda van der Graaf, R. A. A. Maes, René S. Kahn
    TLDR Hair analysis for drugs in psychosis patients is unreliable due to varying hair growth rates.
    The study investigated the use of hair analysis to detect cannabinoids and amphetamines in 100 patients with psychosis, with 64 providing hair samples. Using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, they assumed a monthly hair growth rate of 1.5 cm. Out of 33 sufficiently long samples, nine tested positive for the substances, while seven did not, despite self-reported use. The discrepancy was attributed to individual variations in hair growth rates, highlighting a significant limitation of this method.
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