ONE ON ONE | Robert J. Planey YSU graduate enjoys career in forensic drug testing

What exactly does a forensic drug chemist do?
Extract narcotics from body fluids, from hair follicles, and from the actual drugs themselves, the actual narcotic substances.
For what?
For pre-employment testing, for follow-ups on accidents, for police departments and law enforcement agencies for general cases.
How similar is what you do to what we see on TV on "CSI"?
A lot of what we do is similar to "CSI." Where they cover every crime -- murders and whatnot -- we're dealing just with narcotics.
Is your work strictly in the laboratory?
When we're working on a case for a police department, there's a lot of times when we have to testify in court.
What types of court cases do you testify in?
Drug possession, drug-use charges, drug-trafficking cases.
So you verify that substances actually are narcotics?
Correct.
How large of a geographic area does Omega Labs serve?
As far as work with police departments, we pretty much cover just Ohio right now. As far as pre-employment testing goes for hair follicle analysis and forensic hair analysis, different places throughout the country send those to us.
What is a forensic hair analysis?
With a pre-employment analysis, there is a set cut-off level [of drugs] that is government mandated. If a person falls below that, the result goes out as negative. If it goes out above that, it goes out as positive.
When we do forensic hair analysis, we're looking to detect any level. It's used a lot in child custody cases where you can't have any in your system. That's what's different about pre-employment testing -- you're not looking to catch that one-time user. When you do a hair test, you're looking to catch that person who does it over and over.
How old is Omega Labs?
Official opening was June 2000.
Is demand for services growing?
Pretty quickly. Last month was the busiest we've been since we've been open, and with the economy as bad as it is, that's a good sign.
What do you like most about your work?
The fact that it changes day-to-day with the different samples you get, the different cases. It's not repetitive like working in a factory.
What is the most surprising thing you've discovered?
How many people are actually using drugs. I'm really shocked by the amount of cocaine use I see. A lot of people think marijuana is a big problem. I don't think they realize how much cocaine use is out there. I'm actually seeing more cocaine use than marijuana use.
Do you see that in the pre-employment testing?
Primarily, but through different police agencies, we're seeing a lot of crack cocaine.
Are more companies having potential employees tested for drugs?
Definitely. Companies are starting to become more aware of drug problems and the fact that someone using drugs can cost the company a lot of money as far as lawsuits go and as far as them not being reliable and missing work.
What advantage does a hair test have over a urine test?
You can't beat it. A good example of the benefits is if you go to Arby's tonight and eat a sandwich with poppy seeds on the roll. After you eat that, you'd test positive for opiates in the urine test because your body metabolizes that poppy seed the same way it metabolizes heroin -- heroin comes from the poppy plant. So, it appears on a screen that you have opiates in your system. You would never detect that in the hair.
Most companies want to screen out habitual users who are a threat to themselves and the company. Hair tests determine that.
How expensive is it?
It's not expensive at all. It's about three times what it costs for a urine test; the results are so much better.
Do you do work for coroners?
I have. I helped figure out the cause of death in a drug overdose -- figured out what the person overdosed on and how much was in their system.
What body substances do you test for a case like that?
We were given urine and blood.
Who has inspired you?
My parents. My mom was real supportive. I think she's pretty proud.
What do you like doing for fun?
I love going to see the Cleveland Indians play. I have a 20-game season ticket package with a couple of other guys -- we split them up.
What kind of music do you like?
I'm pretty diverse. I can go see Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, but I can go see Metallica also.
You like to watch baseball; do you like to play, too?
I used to coach. I coached Pony League in Boardman for years.
You don't do it anymore?
No. It's hard, working here.
What's your work schedule like?
We're usually here 9 to 5. There is some overtime.
Is it a long drive for you?
It's about 45 minutes from home.
Was that hard to get used to?
It was the first year, but now it's pretty much part of life. It's kind of nice. Most people come home and need that period where they come down. I hit that on the way home.