LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Elimination Half-Lives of Benzoylecgonine and MDMA in an Apprehended Driver

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Published: Journal of Analytical Toxicology, ISSN 0146-4760, Volume 32, Number 2, March, pp.197-198

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Elimination Half-Lives of Benzoylecgonine and MDMA in an Apprehended Driver
A.W. Jones
Department of Forensic Genetics and Forensic Chemistry, National Board of Forensic Medicine, Artillerigatan 12, SE-581 33 Linköping, Sweden

After a zero-tolerance law was introduced in Sweden for driving under the influence of drugs (DUID), the number of blood samples sent by the police for toxicological analysis increased more than 10-fold. Central stimulant amines, as exemplified by amphetamine and methamphetamine are highly prominent in DUID suspects and are identified in 50–60% of all cases. Other stimulants encountered in blood from impaired drivers, although much less frequently, are cocaine and ecstasy (MDMA). This report concerns a 27-year-old man apprehended by the police on suspicion of impaired driving on three separate occasions during a 24-h period. Blood samples for forensic analysis were obtained with the aid of evacuated tubes containing 100 mg sodium fluoride and 25 mg potassium oxalate as preservatives. The times of sampling blood were 2:03 p.m., 10:27 p.m., and 3:30 a.m. the next day. Table I gives the sampling times and the concentrations of benzoylecgonine (BZE), amphetamine, MDMA, and MDA in the blood samples.

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