Summary

In this episode of the Critical Science podcast, Dr. Lyle Burgoon discusses the topic of drug testing, with a focus on methamphetamine testing. He explains the different forms of methamphetamine and how they affect the brain. Dr. Burgoon highlights the presence of levomethamphetamine in over-the-counter products and the potential for false positive methamphetamine tests. He emphasizes the importance of accurately listing all medications, including over-the-counter drugs, when undergoing drug testing. Dr. Burgoon also explores the probability of drug use based on positive test results and the challenges of interpreting drug tests. He concludes by emphasizing the need for due diligence and additional confirmatory tests in the drug testing process.

Takeaways

Methamphetamine has two forms: levo and dextro, with only the dextro form having psychoactive effects on the brain.

Over-the-counter products containing levomethamphetamine can lead to false positive methamphetamine tests.

Positive drug tests do not necessarily indicate drug abuse, as there is a high probability of non-users testing positive.

Confirmatory tests, such as enantiomer-specific tests, are necessary to accurately determine the presence of methamphetamine.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Drug Testing

00:28 Different Forms of Methamphetamine

01:53 How Methamphetamine Affects the Brain

03:10 Levomethamphetamine in Over-the-Counter Products

04:07 Ramifications of Positive Methamphetamine Tests

05:59 Forgetting to List Over-the-Counter Drugs

06:26 Drug Testing in Various Settings

07:24 Probability of Drug Use Based on Positive Test

08:20 Bayes' Rule and Prevalence of Drug Users

09:46 Probability of Positive Test for Non-Users

12:37 Performance Characteristics of Drug Tests

13:34 Low Probability of Drug Use Given Positive Test

16:37 High Probability of Non-Users Testing Positive

18:10 Challenges of Drug Testing and Confirmatory Tests

20:27 Enantiomer Specific Test for Methamphetamine

23:21 Additional Steps in Drug Testing Process

25:31 Importance of Due Diligence in Drug Testing

26:01 Positive Test Does Not Indicate Drug Abuse

26:58 Orthogonal Assay for More Accurate Results

27:25 Conclusion and Closing Remarks

Help us continue Critical Science. Every dollar helps us focus on developing new content. It takes a lot of time to do the research that goes in to Critical Science, and subscriptions and other support are the only way we can continue to create this content. Please help us out: https://plus.acast.com/s/critical-science.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.