Cocaine and metabolites by LC-MS/MS.

Abuse of the stimulant cocaine (COC) is a common problem in the United States and elsewhere. The drug can be used either as the powder or as the free base (crack COC), and causes feelings of alertness and euphoria; both forms of COC are powerfully addictive. The assay described here is designed to detect and quantitate parent COC, its major metabolite benzoylecgonine, and a selection of metabolites that can provide specific information about sample validity (m-hydroxybenzoylecgonine), potential toxicity (norcocaine), route of administration (anhydroecgonine methyl ester), and co-utilization with ethanol (cocaethylene).