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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Can Cocaine Use Be Proved Or Disapproved With Hair And Toenail Samples?

If a person has not cut their hair since June, 2012 and only cut their toenails twice since June 2012 can these be used to prove the person NEVER ingested or used Cocaine in June, 2012 or since then??? This person had medical care for a lifetime medical condition TERMINATED because of a False Positive for Cocaine. His Doctor had prescribed Methylphenidate (PRN to TID 5.0 mg./ fatigue)??
Thu, 27 Oct 2016
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Addiction Medicine Specialist,  's  Response
Yes they are a very good indicator to rule out drug use including cocaine. Methylphenidate has some chemical similarity to cocaine. The usual screening tests for drug use are quite inaccurate and always need a more reliable confirmatory test. This is especially true of all stimulants since they are similar in structure to a wide variety of other (non-controlled) drugs such as decongestants, asthma medicines, and anti-depressants.
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Can Cocaine Use Be Proved Or Disapproved With Hair And Toenail Samples?

Yes they are a very good indicator to rule out drug use including cocaine. Methylphenidate has some chemical similarity to cocaine. The usual screening tests for drug use are quite inaccurate and always need a more reliable confirmatory test. This is especially true of all stimulants since they are similar in structure to a wide variety of other (non-controlled) drugs such as decongestants, asthma medicines, and anti-depressants.