NOTICES

Minimum Levels of Controlled Substances or Their Metabolites in Blood to Establish Presence of Controlled Substance

[45 Pa.B. 3638]
[Saturday, July 4, 2015]

 Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1547(c)(4) (relating to chemical testing to determine amount of alcohol or controlled substance), as amended by the act of September 30, 2003 (P. L. 120, No. 24), the Department of Health (Department) is publishing a notice of the minimum levels of Schedule I, nonprescribed Schedule II and nonprescribed Schedule III controlled substances or their metabolites that must be present in a person's blood for the test results to be admissible in a prosecution for a violation of 75 Pa.C.S. § 1543(b)(1.1), § 3802(d)(1), (2) or (3) or § 3808(a)(2) (relating to driving while operating privilege is suspended or revoked; driving under influence of alcohol or controlled substance; and illegally operating a motor vehicle not equipped with ignition interlock).

 Testing for controlled substances in blood is normally a two-step process. The first step involves screening of the blood using a relatively rapid and inexpensive procedure to presumptively determine whether a specimen contains a controlled substance or a metabolite of a controlled substance. The second step utilizes an alternate procedure to confirm the presence of the controlled substance or metabolite that was presumptively detected by the screening procedure. Confirmatory analyses employed to substantiate the presence of a controlled substance or metabolite are also used to determine the concentration of the controlled substance or metabolite. A limit of quantitation (LOQ) for a controlled substance or metabolite is the lowest concentration that a laboratory can reliably determine. A laboratory's LOQ for each controlled substance or metabolite will depend upon the equipment and procedures the laboratory employs for confirmatory testing.

 Laboratories that operate in this Commonwealth and perform analyses of blood to determine controlled substance content must be approved by the Department in accordance with 28 Pa. Code § 5.50 (relating to approval to provide special analytical services) and be listed in notices published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The minimum levels listed in this notice were developed by reviewing the LOQs reported by the laboratories approved by the Department to analyze blood for controlled substances or their metabolites. Laboratories are not required to have LOQs for controlled substances or their metabolites that are equal to or below minimum levels listed. The levels listed are intended to establish the lowest reportable results admissible in a prosecution.

 The Department recognizes that testing may be conducted for controlled substances and metabolites not listed in this notice. When testing is necessary, interested parties should contact the laboratory performing the test to inquire as to that laboratory's specific method of testing, the equipment used and any policies or procedures employed by that laboratory to ensure that the test results are valid. In subsequent notices, the Department will revise, as needed, the minimum levels of controlled substances or metabolites already included in this notice and add new controlled substances or metabolites when warranted.

 Questions regarding this list should be directed to Dr. James R. Lute, Assistant Bureau Director, Department of Health, Bureau of Laboratories, P. O. Box 500, Exton, PA 19341-0500, (610) 280-3464. Persons with a disability who require an alternative format of this notice (for example, large print, audiotape or Braille) may contact Dr. James R. Lute at the previously referenced address or phone number. Persons who are speech or hearing impaired may use V/TT (717) 783-6514 or the Pennsylvania AT&T Relay Service at (800) 654-5984 (TT).

Class	Substance	Schedule	Minimum Quantitation Limits (nanograms/milliliter)
Amphetamines
	Amphetamine Methamphetamine Methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA,  Ecstasy)	II II I I	5 5 5 5
Analgesics
	Methadone	II	20
Cannabinoids
	Delta-9-THC (THC)* 11-Hydroxy-Delta-9-THC (THC-OH) 11-Nor-9-Carboxy-Delta-9-THC  (THC-COOH)	I I I	1 1 1
Cocaine
	Cocaine Benzoylecgonine	II II	5 5
Hallucinogens
	Phencyclidine	II	1
Opiates
	Codeine Hydrocodone Hydromorphone 6-Monoacetylmorphine Morphine Oxycodone	II II II II II II	5 5 1 1 5 5
Sedatives/Hypnotics
	Amobarbital Pentobarbital Secobarbital	II II II	200 200 200
*THC = tetrahydrocannabinol

KAREN M. MURPHY, PhD, RN, 
Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 15-1250. Filed for public inspection July 2, 2015, 9:00 a.m.]

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