The Postmortem GC–MS Study Selected Its Case Samples After Positive Cannabis Screening
The forty-one postmortem cases were selected after a positive immunoassay screen. Their confirmatory findings were not a prevalence estimate for all autopsies or all submitted blood specimens.
The case series was already enriched for suspected exposure
The researchers applied the developed method to laboratory submissions selected on their screening result. THC-COOH was identified in all forty-one, while parent THC could be quantified in fifteen. Those are findings in a selected series, not outcomes from an unselected population.
Parent and metabolite outcomes must remain separate
A positive screening signal did not mean parent THC would be quantified in every case. Differences in target compounds, detection capability and postmortem circumstances matter. A confirmation discrepancy alone cannot identify which of those factors explains an individual specimen.
Selection limits broader performance claims
Because screen-negative submissions were not represented in the same application series, these counts cannot establish sensitivity across all autopsy specimens. Nor do they establish a community cannabis-use rate. The work demonstrated practical application of an analytical method to selected cases. It did not independently reconstruct use timing, premortem impairment or cause of death from the resulting concentrations.
Related analysis: the study’s broader findings and limitations.
