Mitragynine in the Orange County DUID population

In recent years, mitragynine has been consistently detected in driving under the influence of drug (DUID) cases. In this paper, we evaluate 3 years (2017-2019) worth of DUID data from arrested drivers in Orange County, CA, USA. From the 25,398 DUID cases received in those 3 years, there were 60 (0.24%) cases with detectable concentrations, >10 ng/mL, of mitragynine. The majority of drivers were male (90%) and were stopped during the week (81%), considered Monday 0000 to Friday 1159. The concentration range for all mitragynine cases was 10.5-960 ng/mL, with a mean of 109 ng/mL and a median of 58 ng/mL. Forty four of the 60 cases were also screened for 7-hydroxymitragynine, and 27 (63%) were positive. The police reports and drug recognition expert evaluations were collected and evaluated. No case contained solely mitragynine, and the most common drugs detected in combination were central nervous system depressants (ethanol, followed by benzodiazepines), stimulants (methamphetamine and cocaine) and opioids (fentanyl and indication of heroin). Two cases containing only one other psychoactive substance are discussed more thoroughly to attempt to identify the contributions of mitragynine to driving impairment. Collected demographic, toxicological and field observations are presented for all cases.