Usually, methods must be developed and validated in order to demonstrate concentrations of analytes above a given threshold, although sensitivity requirements use to be stronger in the anti-doping field. Strict administrative and chain of custody requirements are being added to the classical analytical skills for this kind of work. Contributions to these and other aspects of drug testing will be appreciated. Alternative Specimen Testing Vina Spiehler, New Port Beach, U. S. A. Hair, fingernails, saliva, sweat and other alternative specimens provide useful information on the source, time and amount of drug use in postmortem investigation of drug-involved death. In the living person hair, fingernail, saliva or even sweat may be more acceptable to the donor and less invasive in collection of specimens for testing for drugs.
Alternative specimens are safer to collect than blood and less embarrassing than urine.
Saliva may be collected at the roadside or the bedside and tested immediately. This symposium invites reports of advances in technology for testing hair, saliva, sweat and other alternative specimens, reports of the pharmacology and pharmacokinetics of drugs in alternative specimens to improve interpretation of analytical results, and any case reports of the practical use of alternative specimens. In industrialized and highly motorized countries male drivers up to the age 24 re more than twice as likely to be involved in automobile accidents compared to their percentage of the driving population. One of the major goals in traffic safety is, to prevent or reduce the risk of causing accidents, by this group of drivers. Use of alcohol and illegal drugs by young drivers are the most important additional causes of accidents with injured or killed traffic participants.