See Amphetamines, Cannabis sativa.
Definition
- Drugs that are capable of altering perception of reality, also known as psychotomimetic drugs. Although many drugs (e.g., anticholinergics, cocaine) can induce delusions and/or hallucinations, this class has the capacity to reliably induce states of altered perception, feeling, and thought.
- Other names:
- Ketamine: 2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(methyl-amino) cyclohexanone
- Phencyclidine: PCP, 1-(1-phenylcyclohexyl) piperidine, angel dust, elephant tranquilizer, peace pill, Sherman, T
- d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD): 9,10-d-N,N-diethyl-6-methylergoline-8b-carboxamide, microdots, window pane
- Normal range: ketamine: 500 " 2,000 ng/mL plasma [IV administration]; PCP/LSD: not available
Use
- Ketamine: induction of anesthesia
- Phencyclidine: no current medical use in the United States; abused as a hallucinogen
- LSD: no current medical use in the United States; abused as a hallucinogen
Limitations
- LSD unstable in light, elevated temperature, and alkaline conditions and may irreversibly adsorb to containers.
- Screening: individual drug-specific tests required; immunoassay based on automated chemistry analyzers using blood/serum/urine
- Ketamine
- No tests currently available by immunoassay
- TLC procedures have a high limit of detection of approximately 1,000 ng/mL.
- See confirmation: readily detected with alkaline liquid " liquid or solid-phase extraction followed by gas chromatography or GC/MS analysis.
- PCP
- Tests available from multiple manufacturers
- Target; PCP
- Limit of quantitation: 25 ng/mL [urine]; 2 " 10 ng/mL [blood/serum]
- Little to no cross-reactivity with PCP metabolites and varying cross- reactivity (20 " 90%) with PCP analogs [e.g., TCP-1-(1-thiophenecyclohexyl) piperidine]
- May cross react with dextromethorphan
- LSD
- Target: d-LSD
- Limit of quantitation: 0.5 ng/mL
- Low (<20%) cross-reactivity with metabolites, no cross-reactivity with lysergic acid
- Confirmation: chromatography based; sample pretreatment/extraction procedure often required
- Ketamine [blood/serum/urine]
- Gas chromatography
- HPLC
- GC/MS
- Target analyte: ketamine
- Limit of quantitation: 25 " 50 ng/mL
- PCP [blood/serum/urine]
- Gas chromatography
- HPLC
- GC/MS
- Target analyte: PCP
- Limit of quantitation: 10 " 50 ng/mL
- LSD [blood/serum/urine]
- LC/MS
- LC/MS/MS
- Target analytes; d-LSD, hydroxy-LSD, 2-oxo-LSD, 2-oxo-3-hydroxy-LSD, N-desmethyl-LSD
- Limit of quantitation: 0.5 " 2 ng/mL
- Multiple identified and unidentified metabolites formed, resulting in a low confirmation rate for LSD of positive-screened specimens