Office of Aerospace Medicine Technical Reports

FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute


Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-85/8

Title and Subtitle: Drugs of abuse in aviation fatalities: 1. Marijuana.

Report Date: August 1985

Authors: Lacefield DJ, Roberts PA, Grape PM.

Abstract: Isopropyl alcohol swabs taken from the oral cavities of pilots killed in general aviation accidents were analyzed for marijuana by the modified Duquenois-Levine test. During the 2-year period from October 1982 through September 1984, 289 pilot fatalities ( of 809 sampled for other toxicological reasons) were sampled for marijuana; a positive test indicated the recent use of marijuana. Six of the pilots' samples (2.1 percent) were positive.

Key Words: death, drug abuse, cannabis, aviation accidents, casualties, propanols, alcohols, mouth, sampling, isomers, pilots.

No. of Pages: 6

Last updated: Friday, June 1, 2012