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Illegal drugs

Illegal drugs. Definitions. Drug Abuse: Using drug as a habit Use of drug to an extent that it produces impairment of social, psychological or physiological functioning Drug Dependency: Tolerance Psychological dependency Physical dependency Drug:

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Illegal drugs

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  1. Illegal drugs

  2. Definitions • Drug Abuse: • Using drug as a habit • Use of drug to an extent that it produces impairment of social, psychological or physiological functioning • Drug Dependency: • Tolerance • Psychological dependency • Physical dependency • Drug: • Any substance that alters strucutre or function in living organisms

  3. Definitions Cont. • Physiological Dependence • There is a physical need by the body to have the drug present • Experience illness if they stop taking the drug • Psychological Dependence • Person develops an uncontrollable “craving” (mental or emotional need) for the drug • Craving is a desperate need to continue

  4. What are the types of illegal drugs? • Stimulants • Depressants • Narcotics • Hallucinogens • Inhalants • Analgesics • Performance Enhancers

  5. Classifications • Class A • 7 years for possession, life for dealing (cocaine/heroin) • Class B • 5 years ofr possession, 14 for dealing (cannabis) • Class C • 2 for possession, 14 for dealing (tranquilizers)

  6. Controlled Substance Laws  • A controlled substance is a drug named in either federal or state statutes that is illegal to possess except when prescribed by a physician • The federal government has created 5 controlled substance schedules, based on their potential for abuse and medical value • No medical use (heroin, LSD, marijuana) • Some medical use (Cocaine, morphine) • Anabolic steroids are placed in this schedule • Has most of the tranquilizers & many diet drugs • Exempt preparations:  e.g. cough syrup with codeine

  7. Forensic Laboratory  • The screening tests are important for establishing probable cause when making a drug possession arrest • However, the screening tests are not a substitute for laboratory analysis • Commonly used screening tests are: • The Scott test for cocaine • The Duquenois-Levine test for marijuana • The Marquis test for opiates • The Van Erk test for many hallucinogenic drugs

  8. Analysis of Controlled Substances in the Forensic Laboratory  • Isolation and Separation: • Steps may include an initial microscopic examination to determine the number of materials that may be present • A purification step to separate the controlled substance from other materials, such as diluents (materials added to a drug to give bulk/volume) • A liquid-liquid extraction or various types of chromatography are commonly used separation techniques

  9. Analysis of Controlled Substances in the Forensic Laboratory  • Microcrystal Tests: • A confirmatory test that can be used directly with street drug samples is the microcrystal test • The test is performed by taking a small amount of drug, placing it on a microscope slide and adding a drop of reagent • The shape (morphology) of the  crystal formed is characteristic  for that particular drug and  reagent • The tests are rapid and specific

  10. Analysis of Controlled Substances in the Forensic Laboratory  • Chromatography (Separations): • Chromatography is a process that separates a mixture of different compounds • Separation is achieved by the differences in the partitioning of compounds between two phases:  a moving phase and a  stationary phase • Chromatography  provides tentative  identification, based  on retention time (GC)  or distance traveled  (TLC)

  11. Analysis of Controlled Substances in the Forensic Laboratory  • Spectroscopy/Spectrometry: • Spectroscopy refers to the interaction of electro-magnetic radiation with a chemical to give a pattern (spectrum) characteristic of that material’s interaction with the radiation • Mass spectroscopy  (MS) or infrared  spectroscopy (IR)  are excellent ways  to identify drugs

  12. Analysis of Controlled Substances in the Forensic Laboratory • Spectroscopic methods work best with samples that are relatively pure, thus often combined with gas chromatography (GC-MS;  GC-IR) • The combination of liquid  chromatography and  mass spectrometry  (LC-MS) provides a  retention time along  with a spectrum for  unambiguous  identification

  13. Analysis of Controlled Substances in the Forensic Laboratory  • Qualitative versus Quantitative Analysis: • Qualitative analysis means determining whether something is there or not there • With most drug laws, a qualitative identification is all that is necessary (“aggregate weight based law”) • Quantitative analysis indicates how much of that sample is made up of a controlled substance (percentage of the total for each controlled substance present in a sample)

  14. Forensic Toxicology Antemortem and Postmortem • Antemortem Sample Analysis: • A number of laws and rules have to do with the workplace use of drugs • Urine specimens from random drug testing are sent to the forensic lab for toxicology analysis • Forensic Toxicology labs also test for the presence of certain drugs in victims of sexual assault, who may have been drugged as an adjunct to the assault

  15. Forensic Toxicology Antemortem and Postmortem  • Postmortem Sample Analysis: • Medical examiners are responsible for determining the cause and manner of sudden, suspicious, or unattended death • Postmortem toxicology is done to assist the medical examiner with this determination • Toxicologist’s work is complicated by the limited amount of drug in the body and by the natural process of metabolism • The toxicologist looks for both the drug itself and the metabolites

  16. Classes of Poisons: • The presence of poisons in the body may be critical to law enforcement or public health investigations • Three basic groups of poisons: • Inorganic (arsenic, cadmium, cyanide) • Organic (strychnine, curare, digitalis) • Biological (venoms, botulism, tetradotoxin)

  17. Forensic Toxicology • Toxicology: Study of drugs and poisons and their adverse affects on the human system. • Sub fields • Pharmacokinetics – how the drug works on people • Pharmacodynamics – how people work on the drugs • Forensic Toxicology: Examination of all aspects of toxicity that may have legal distinctions

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