Detection of misreported drug use in forensic populations: an overview of hair analysis.

Criminal and civil forensic evaluations are frequently complicated by misreported (denied or exaggerated) substance abuse. This article provides an introduction to the use of radioimmunoassay of hair (RIAH). RIAH with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry confirmation is superior to the more commonly employed urinalysis in its (1) wider window of detection, (2) ability to provide a chronology of substance abuse, and (3) resistance to countermeasures. The potential implications of the RIAH procedure to retrospective and prospective forensic evaluations are discussed.