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Kenneth Alonso, MD
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Decatur

JAMA. 1986;255(24):3360.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

Analyses of blood, urine, and other specimens for controlled substances, as well as therapeutic agents, have proved valuable both as patient management and as law enforcement tools. In Georgia, 2% of all samples obtained from those arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs demonstrate levels of cocaine or one of its metabolites, which suggests recent use. Furthermore, 40% of all samples obtained also demonstrate the presence of cannabinoids. Of the 10,000 specimens tested, only 2% had no alcohol or other drugs detected in them.¹ This office recently reviewed the effect of prescription drugs on driving performance.² The drug identification methods employed are well documented.³

For example, in Georgia, the demonstration of alcohol or other drugs is taken as a rebuttable presumption that the accused is impaired.⁴ The courts have adopted a "less safe" test: "a person is under the . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Footnotes
Edited by Drummond Rennie, MD, Senior Contributing Editor; Sharon Iverson, Assistant Editor.

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