Drugs - Drug Testing FAQ

Image via WikipediaDrugs - Drug Testing FAQ: "CONTENTS

DETECTION TIMES

* 1.1 Halflife of TetraHydroCannabinol
* 1.2 Detection times of several drugs
* 1.3 Positive (definition)
* 1.3.1 Second hand smoke and positives
* 1.4 Decreasing detection times

TEST METHODS

* 2.1 Substances that are detectable
* 2.2 DrugAlert
* 2.3 Gas Chromatography
* 2.4 Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry
* 2.5 Hair testing
* 2.6 High Performance Liquid Chromatography
* 2.7 Immunoassay
* 2.7.1 Radio ImmunoAssay (aka Abuscreen)
* 2.7.2 Enzyme Multiplied Immunoassay Technique
* 2.7.3 Fluorescence Polarization ImmunoAssay
* 2.8 PharmChek
* 2.9 TestCup
* 2.10 Thin Layer Chromatography

TEST STANDARDS AND ACCURACY

* 3.1 Procedures used
* 3.2 False positives
* 3.2.1 Ibuprofen
* 3.2.2 Cold remedies, pain relievers, hay fever remedies, & diet pills
* 3.2.3 Antibiotics
* 3.2.4 Melanin (black skin)
* 3.2.5 DHEA
* 3.2.6 Dental treatment
* 3.3 True positives (legitimate)
* 3.3.1 Poppy seeds
* 3.3.2 Testosterone supplements

A NOTE ON COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS

THINGS TESTED TO DETECT COUNTER MEASURES

* 5."

Designer Drugs

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeDesigner Drugs: "Index

* Introduction
* Hallucinogens
o Indoles
+ Ergot Alkaloids
+ Indolealkylamine
o Phenylalkylamines
o Phencyclidine
* Stimulants
* Sedatives-Depressants
* Analgesics
* Conclusion
* Definitions
* References"

LSD tested on British Army

Sri Lanka government wants to grow its own marijuana

Thu Sep 25, 2008 9:44am BST

By C. Bryson Hull

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's government wants to grow its own marijuana.

Facing a lack of the fresh weed for use in traditional Ayurvedic medical preparations, the government ministry responsible wants to be excepted from laws that have made marijuana illegal on the Indian Ocean island since the 1890s.

The Ministry of Indigenous Medicine this month broached a plan to grow 4,000 kg (8,818 lb) a year of marijuana, also known as cannabis, on a proposed 20 acre (8 hectares) farm.

"We are interested in getting some approval to grow some cannabis with government sponsorship, but there must be controls. It is under study," Asoka Malimage, secretary at the Ministry of Indigenous Medicine, told Reuters Thursday.

Ayurveda is a traditional medicine with roots in the early Hindu era which makes wide use of herbs and natural remedies with the goal of healing the body and mind. In Sri Lanka, ayurveda practitioners outnumber Western-trained doctors.

Fresh marijuana fried in ghee, a form of clarified butter, is used in about 18 different traditional medicines for treating a wide variety of ailments, Malimage said.

"At the moment they are getting some stocks from the courts of law, because there are people who grow this cannabis illegally and they have been raided by the police," Malimage said.

But the problem with that weed is that it is old and dried out, said Dr. Dayangani Senasekara, head of state-run Bandaranaike Memorial Ayurvedic Research Institute in Colombo.

"You can't get the fresh juice from old cannabis. What we get now is the powdered form and it's not effective," Senasekara said.

The institute is making preparations that use marijuana to treat high cholesterol, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and skin discolorations, and soon will formulate one for treating cataracts, Senasekara said.

The use of marijuana to treat glaucoma, nausea, pain and the loss of appetite from diseases like cancer and AIDS has been the subject of great medical debate in the west.

Some countries and parts of the United States have permitted its use to treat those conditions, after some medical studies showed it was effective.

(Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

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Vernon Coleman - The Drugs Myth

Vernon Coleman - The Drugs Myth: "Contents

1 We are all addicts
2 Why prohibition fails
3 Toxic stress
4 Heroin, cocaine, cannabis and LSD
5 Legal drugs and their dangers
6 The drugs war
7 The only way ahead"