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Buy Xanax Abstract - May 7, 2005
Drug identification performance on the basis of observable signs and symptoms.
Shinar D, Schechtman E, Compton RP.
Industrial Engineering and Management, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Ben Gurion Blvd, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel.
A double blind study was performed to evaluate the ability of
trained police officers to detect drug impairments and to identify
the type of drug responsible for the impairment, on the basis
of observed symptoms and psychophysical measurements of performance
alone. The officers were not allowed to interview the subjects,
and their conclusions were based solely on observable signs and
symptoms on systematically measured vital signs, and on standardized
sobriety tests of motor coordination. Results showed that with
this partial information, the officers are able to detect drug
impairment at better-than-chance levels with a sensitivity (correct
detection of impairments) of 72%, but with a specificity of 43%
(false alarm rate of 57%). Furthermore, the association between
drug ingestion and identification of the specific impairing drug
category was not very high, with sensitivities ranging from a
low of 10% for amphetamine to a high of 49% for cannabis. Based
on both sensitivity and specificity, drug identification was best
for alprazolam impairment, noticeably poorer for cannabis and
codeine impairment, and no better than chance for amphetamine
impairment. Performance could have been improved if the officers
were to list the two most probable impairing drugs (rather than
limit their decision to only one), and if they were more consistent
in their interpretation of observable signs and symptoms.
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