Tampa, FL: Hair color plays little role in determining whether an individual will test positive for marijuana on a hair test, according to the findings of a study published in the December 12, 2003 issue of the journal Life Sciences.
A researcher at the University of South Florida Department of Criminology analyzed nearly 4,000 hair specimens that had previously tested positive for THC. “Analysis of variance color categorization by THC concentration shows that THC concentration does not have a significant association with hair color and therefore does not have a demonstrable ‘color effect,’ the study concluded.
The findings differ from those of previous studies that have shown that melanin in hair appears to play a binding role for some commonly detected drugs.
According to a previous study published in January, THC concentrations in hair decline rapidly when exposed to high humidity levels.
For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, Senior Policy Analyst of The NORML Foundation, at (202) 483-8751. Abstracts of the study, entitled “Assessing the potential of a ‘color effect’ for hair analysis of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol: Analysis of a large sample of hair specimens,” are available online at the Life Sciences homepage at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00243205.