Transcript Drugs Notes

Chapter 9: Drugs
Forensic Science
What is a Drug?
 Any natural or synthetic substance that is used to
produce physiological or psychological effects on
humans or animals.
 Drugs used to be associated mostly with those
belonging to the lower socioeconomic classes
but now it is an issue spanning across all
socioeconomic and ethnic classes of society.
 23 million people in the U.S. are users of elicit
drugs
 90 million people in the U.S. drink alcohol
regularly (10 million are alcoholics)
.
Drug Dependence
 First drugs to be controlled by law were the
one’s deemed “habit-forming” (opium, cocaine
and marijuana)
 Two types of dependence:
Physical: serious physical effects felt when the drug
use is discontinued abruptly
Psychological: drug use is needed for the
“emotional well-being” of the user. No physical
effects are felt when discontinuing use.
 The common denominator that characterizes all
types of repeated drug use is the creation of a
psychological dependence for continued use of
the drug.
More on Drugs…
 More than 75% of evidence evaluated in the
crime laboratories is drug related
 Drug use alone has supported the expansion
and creation of crime laboratories
Narcotic:
 Pain-killing substances that depress bodily
functions (blood pressure, pulse and breathing
rate)
Analgesic:
 A drug or substance that lessens or eliminates
pain.
Hallucinogen:
 Induces in changes in mood, attitude, thought or
perception
Depressant
 Substance that depresses the functions of the
central nervous system. Can calm irritability and
anxiety and may induce sleep.
Stimulant
 Substance taken to increase alertness or
activity.
Stimulant Side Effects:
 Initial “rush” sensation followed by intense
feeling of pleasure.
 Can cause hyperactivity, clarity of vision and
hallucinations.
 After use can cause period of exhaustion and/or
depression.
Depressant Side Effects:
 Affect judgment, memory and concentrations.
 Reduces coordination
 Slow reaction time
 Highly irritable or emotional
For the table on #7, please add “Narcotic” as a
choice to the first column.
Narcotics
 Pain-killing substances that depress bodily
functions (blood pressure, pulse and breathing
rate)
 A.K.A. analgesics
 Most are derived from opium: milky juice
obtained from the unripe pod of the poppy
 Examples: Codeine, Heroin, Oxycontin,
Methadone
 Psychological and Physical dependence
Hallucinogens
 Induces in changes in mood, attitude, thought or
perception
 Cannabis (Marijuana) Used for over 3,000
years, but brought to U.S. in 1920 by Mexican
laborers
 In 1937, 46 states and federal government
deemed it “illegal”
Hallucinogens, cont’d
 Psychological dependence develops in the
heavy user
 Effects: red eyes, impaired motor skills and
concentration, frequent hunger
 Possible medical uses include: reduction of eye
pressure in glaucoma, decrease in nausea for
anti-cancer drugs and muscle relaxant (#10 on
Reading Guide)
Hallucinogens, cont’d
 Others include:
LSD, PCP, ecstasy
 LSD: very potent drug that causes visual
hallucinations that can last up to 12 hours.
Produces marked changes in behavior. Feelings
of anxiety and tension accompany use. User
can be prone to flashbacks and psychotic
reactions even after use is discontinued.
 Low psychological dependence
Hallucinogens, cont’d
 PCP:
users experiences feelings of strength and
invulnerability, along with a sense of
detachment. User soon becomes unresponsive,
confused and agitated. Depression, irritability,
feelings of isolation, audio and visual
hallucinations and paranoia are experience by
the user.
Depressants
 Depresses the functions of the nervous system
 Calm irritability and anxiety and can induce sleep
 Examples include:
alcohol, barbiturates,
tranquilizers, glue sniffing (huffing)
 Psychological and physical dependence
 Please listen to the following, you can chose to
add some of this information if you would like
Barbiturates
 Known as “downers”
 25 derivatives used in medical practice in U.S.
 Can be long-acting or fast-acting:
depending on
how long it takes for the effects to take place
 Fast-acting: secobarbital, pentobarbital, and
amobarbital
 Long-acting: phenobarbital
 Non-barbiturate depressant: methaqualone
Tranquilizers
 Relax the body without impairing the higher-
thinking abilities and inducing sleep
 Studies show physical and psychological
dependence on tranquilizers with repeated use
 Some commonly prescribed tranquilizers
include: miltown, librium, valium
Glue-Sniffing/Huffing
 Generally, toluene-based substances are used
 Causes slurred speech, impaired judgement and
double vision, drowsiness and stupor
 High risk of death
 Damages liver, heart and brain
Stimulants
 Increases alertness or activity
 Includes: amphetamines, cocaine, ecstasy,
LSD, PCP, GHB and Rohypnol
Amphetamines
 Synthetic drugs
 Known as uppers or speed
 Generally taken orally, however, can be injected
(methamphetamine) or smoked (ice)
 Causes decrease in fatigue and loss of appetite
 Apprehension and depression may follow after it
wears off
Cocaine
 Derived from the coca plant by Sigmund Freud
 Derivatives such as lidocaine and procaine used
for medical local pain-killers
 Generally sniffed or snorted
 Can be smoked in crystal form (crack)
 No physical dependency, however, creates the
strongest psychological dependency of
commonly used drugs
Club Drugs
 Synthetic drugs that got their names from
use at
nightclubs, raves and bars
 Includes Ecstasy, LSD, PCP, GHB and
Rohypnol (#8 on reading guide)
 GHB an Rohypnol commonly used in sexual
assault, rape and robbery due to the loss of
memory while on drug

Leads to relaxation, loss of consciousness and an inability to
remember what happened during the hours after ingesting.
Anabolic Steroids
 Related to testosterone
 Promotes male characteristics and accelerates
muscle growth
 Generally taken by athletes to increase
performance
 Causes liver cancer and liver malfunctions,
masculine features in women, decreased sex
drive in men and infertility
 Mild physical dependence
 Alcohol is the most widely used and abused
drug.
Why? Legal to purchase over the age of 21 in the
US and easy access.
In the US, the alcohol industry produced more than
one billion gallons of spirits, wine and beer for which
90 million consumers pay nearly $40 billion.
 Marijuana is the most widely used and abused
illicit drug.
Illegal to purchase and/or consume in the US.
Controlled Substances Act
 Creates a method of organizing drugs by their
potential for abuse, potential for dependence and
medical value.
 Very flexible in that the U.S. Attorney General has
the ability to add, delete or reschedule drugs as
more information is obtained
 Serves to create uniform drug laws across the U.S.
 Penalties for unauthorized sale, manufacture or
distribution are related to the schedules
Schedules for the Controlled
Substances Act
 Schedule I:
high potential for abuse, no medical
use (heroin, marijuana, methaqualone & LSD)
 Schedule II:
high potential for abuse, have
accepted medical use with severe restrictions.
High potential for dependence (opium and
derivatives, cocaine, PCP, amphetamines,
barbiturates)
Schedules for the Controlled
Substances Act, cont’d
 Schedule III:
less potential for abuse, accepted
medical use and low-moderate physical but high
psychological dependence (anabolic steroids, some
barbiturates and some codeines)
 Schedule IV: low potential for abuse, current medical
use and limited dependence (Darvon, Valiu, Librium)
 Schedule V: low potential for abuse, current medical
use and less dependence compared to schedule IV
(opiate mixtures and non-narcotic medicinal
ingredients)
 The most severe penalties are for Schedule I
and II drugs.
Drug Identification
 Difficulty is determining the analytical technique
to use which will ensure a specific identification
of the drug.
 Use two phases: Screening phase and the
Confirmation phase (#17 on reading guide)
Screening phase: Reduce the possible identity of
the drug down to a manageable number
Confirmation phase: Specifically identifies the
drug
Color Tests
 Screening phase test
 Use specific reagents to create a presence or
absence of color when in contact with drug
 Marquis: reagent turns purple when in contact
with heroin and morphine and opium derivatives.
Orange brown when mixed with amphetamines.
Color Tests, cont’d
Dillie-Koppanyi: turns violet-blue in presence of
barbiturates
 Dequenois-Levine: Purple color in presence of
marijuana
 Van Urk: blue-purple when in contact with LSD
 Scott test: color test for cocaine. Series of tests; blue
 pink  blue again

Microcrystalline Tests
 Identifies specific substances by color and
morphology of the crystals formed
 Drop of chemical reagent is added to substance on
a microscope slide, chemical reaction occurs
resulting in a crystalline precipitate. The
microscope is then used to analyze the size and
shape of the crystals.
 Rapid test and the drug does not have to be pure
Chromatography
 TLC and Gas Chromatography are used to
separate the drug from its diluents
 Can provide tentative results
 Analyst must have idea as to the identity of the
drug before using these techniques
 With GC-Mass spec a scientist can purify and
POSITIVELY identify a substance in one step
Spectrophotometry
 UV-Spec doesn’t provide positive identification,
but can provide a PROBABLE identity
 IR-Spec provides a POSITIVE identification
Substance must be purified, which can be a
lengthy process
Collection and Preservation of
Drug Evidence
 Must be properly packaged and labeled
 Common sense is generally the best guyde
Package must prevent loss of sample and crosscontamination of substance
Volatile substances (such as in glue-sniffing cases)
must be placed in an air-tight container
Label must include sufficient information as to
establish chain-of-custody
 Supply any background information on the drug
if possible