Evaluation of Oral Fluid as a Specimen for DUID

Drugged driving has become more prevalent than drunk driving and is quickly gaining national attention due to increased prescription drug abuse and recent cannabis legalization. Unlike alcohol, police officers do not generally have access to approved devices to screen for drugs at the roadside. Onsite drug screening devices do exist and are used in other countries, but have not garnered widespread approval for use in the United States in driving under the influence of drugs (3DUID) cases. One reason for this is that the devices are designed to test oral fluid, which is not a commonly accepted specimen for DUID. A study was conducted to test the effectiveness of using oral fluid during routine traffic stops in DUID cases in conjunction with drug recognition expert (3DRE) officers from the Tulsa Police Department (3TPD). Samples were screened at the roadside using an Alere DDS (R) 2 Mobile Test System and Quantisal (TM) collection devices were used for laboratory based screening by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and confirmation by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The results of the DRE observations, alternate specimens like blood and urine, onsite oral fluid screening and laboratory based oral fluid screening and confirmations were used to assess the usefulness of oral fluid as a DUID specimen. Due to the small sample size (3N = 9), no significant differences in the measured performance of onsite and laboratory based tests was seen. The results of this study indicate that oral fluid testing is a viable option both at the roadside and in a laboratory setting.