An anomaly that could affect drug testing across the county is to blame for false test results that put Boulder on alert for “date-rape drugs,” a prominent toxicologist said Monday.
Dr. James Ruth came under scrutiny last week when it was announced that an FBI lab found his lab’s positive results for the drug gamma hydroxybutyrate, or GHB, to be inaccurate.
Ruth said a computer must have mistaken another compound for GHB.
“It is absolutely amazing,” he said. “When you sit down and look at the analytical run – all the paper generated by the machine – it just looked dead-on.”
But it wasn’t. And Ruth said he is working to identify what compound could have been mistaken for a date-rape drug so that labs across the country will know to be cautious.
“We need to publish that,” he said. “A lot of the labs in the country use this method. This is not some harebrained method we cooked up.”
Meanwhile, Ruth said his lab is switching to the method of testing used by the FBI labs.
Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner’s announcement last week that the GHB results were inaccurate was perhaps his second most surprising declaration in weeks – the first being the revelation that two women were drugged with GHB.
The tests stemmed from Sept. 24, when nine underage University of Colorado women went to the hospital after heavy drinking at parties, according to police.
At several of the women’s request, investigators sent blood samples to Ruth Laboratory at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center School of Pharmacy. Ruth’s lab is used by several agencies in the state, including the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Two samples came back positive for GHB – prompting Beckner to put Boulder women on alert. But investigators soon noticed discrepancies and sent the samples to the FBI to examine.
When Beckner announced the erroneous results Thursday, he vowed not to use Ruth’s lab again. Police spokeswoman Julie Brooks said Monday night that it is not clear if Ruth’s explanation will change Beckner’s mind.
“I think the chief was pretty firm about not using the lab again,” she said. “But so much goes into that. … I think the chief is certainly interested in knowing more.”
Ruth said he is working to understand what went wrong.
“It should be nearly impossible for some other compound – any compound – to completely masquerade as GHB and essentially fool the computer,” he said. “We are a not-for-profit laboratory that provides analytical work for police. I’m so dedicated to our police clients and our district attorneys, so this has really come across pretty hard.”
Staff writer George Merritt can be reached at 720-929-0893 or gmerritt@denverpost.com.
