Transcript Forensics Class_ Lecture 9 _ 10 Drugs 150119i

Forensic Science
Lecture 9
Introduction to Drugs
Donald J. Ross, M.D.
Drugs: Introduction
Chapter 8 in textbook
Narcotics
Hallucinogens
Depressants
Stimulants
Club drugs
Anabolic Steroids
Addiction
• Healthcare workers and society have a
primitive understanding of addiction
• Best analogy for a family with an addict;
family with a leukemia patient.
• The disease is so devastating for families
it is like having a loved one suffering
from leukemia
Addiction
• However, in addition to receiving little
or no community or social support there
is a great deal of shame for the family
dealing with the addict
• Criminal activity associated with
addiction, for example the “One Man
Crime Wave”
One Man Crime Wave
• $750 a day heroin habit
• Needed to rob 3 homes or 15 - 25 cars per
day
• Fell off the roof of a school trying to steal
the newly installed air conditioning unit
• Kept his “kit”, syringe, spoon, cotton and
lighter inside a 2nd flashlight, gloves
• Had singlehandedly devastated one town
Addiction
• Immense cost to society; prison, health,
families
• Only effective treatment appears to be
meetings which are social, emotional and
spiritually based
• Group meetings; addicts meet with each other;
talk about their addictions and how it effects
their lives; AA, NA, etc..
• With this 75% will continue in their addiction
Opiates
What to look for in an addict
Pinpoint pupils;
http://thefranklinlakesjournal.com/franklinlakesnj/su
spected-heroin-arrest/
Also causes constipation
Heroin
http://www.123rf.com/stockphoto/heroin.html
Heroin – highly addictive opiate generally
injected.
Responsible for majority of overdoes
Dosage in unknown
Once injected dose is immediately available
to addict
OxyContin
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Why let Pablo Escobar have all the money?
Opiates in a tablet form
Widely used and abused
Doctor shopping
Elderly in Florida caught selling pills
Methadone
• Government sponsored free opiate give
away program
• Addicts are given opiates
Cocaine
Addictive stimulant
Powder form is “snorted”
Hard crystal form may be smoked, “Crack”
Injected
Derived from Coca leaves
Methamphetamines
Stimulant
Can be made at home using easy to acquire
ingredients
http://www.lynnpolice.org/ingredients_of_meth.htm
Meth Lab
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UNUSUAL ODORS –smell of cat urine or rotten eggs
COVERED WINDOWS –blacken or cover windows
STRANGE VENTILATION –unusual ventilation
ELABORATE SECURITY –"Keep Out" signs, guard dogs, video cameras,
or baby monitors placed outside
DEAD VEGETATION – dump toxic substances in their yards, leaving burn
pits,
EXCESSIVE OR UNUSUAL TRASH – packaging from cold tablets
lithium batteries, stained coffee filters, empty containers of antifreeze,
white gas, ether, starting fluids, Freon, lye, drain opener, paint thinner,
acetone, alcohol, or other chemicals
plastic or rubber hoses, duct tape, rubber gloves, or respiratory masks
Illinois Attorney General 2010 Recognizing Meth
Alcohol
• Alcohol and alcohol related deaths will
consume a great deal of time for any
forensics office
• Including MVA, overdoses, domestic
violence leading to homicide, suicides,
drowning and fights leading to death
• A depressant
Barbiturates and Benzodiazepines
Sedatives
Barbiturates are very dangerous especially
when mixed with alcohol. Accidental
overdoses are common with this mixture
Benzodiazepines work in a similar fashion in
the body but are less dangerous. Are less
dangerous when mixed with alcohol, but can
still result in death. Difficult to OD on
Benzodiazepines alone
Pain Killers
Vicodin – Codeine and Tylenol;
Hydrocodone bitartrate and
acetaminophen
• Many other names most are opiate based
• Fentanyl transdermal system – very
powerful
– Case: PhD injecting fentanyl
Hallucinogens
• Marijuana;
• loss of basil ganglia, memory
center
• Increased schizophrenia
Hallucinogens
Psychedelics
(5-HT2A receptor agonists)
Tryptamines
Lysergamides
Phenethylamines
Serotonin releasing agents
Substituted methylenedioxyphenethylamines
Cannabinoids (CB-1 receptor agonists)
Dissociatives
NMDA receptor antagonists
κ-Opioid receptor agonists
Deliriants
Anticholinergics
Club Drugs
1) Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) Ecstasy, E, X, XTC, Adam, Clarity, Lover’s Speed
An amphetamine-based, hallucinogenic type drug that is taken orally, usually in a tablet or capsule form.
2) Gamma-hydoxybutyrate (GHB) Grievous Bodily Harm, G, Liquid Ecstasy, Georgia Home Boy
A central nervous system depressant that is usually ingested in liquid, powder, tablet, and capsule forms.
3) Methamphetamine Speed, Ice, Chalk, Meth, Crystal, Crank, Fire, Glass
A central nervous system stimulant, often found in pill, capsule, or powder form, that can be snorted, injected, or
smoked.
4) Ketamine Special K, K, Vitamin K, Cat Valium
An injectable anesthetic used primarily by veterinarians, found either in liquid form or as a white powder that can
be snorted or smoked, sometimes with marijuana.
5) Rohypnol Roofies, Rophies, Roche, Forget-me Pill
Tasteless and odorless sedative, easily soluble in carbonated beverages, with toxic effects that are aggravated by
concurrent use of alcohol.
6) Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) Acid, Boomers, Yellow Sunshines
Hallucinogen that causes distortions in sensory perception, usually taken orally either in tablet or capsule form.
Often sold on blotter paper that has been saturated with the drug.
FBI; Tips for Parents: The Truth About Club Drugs
Anabolic Steroids
Increased muscle mass
Aggression
Can leave males infertile if not correct
balance of steroids
Forensic Science
Lecture 10
Overdose
Donald J. Ross, M.D.
Killing Mules I
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Motel
White male seated in chair at small table
Found by cleaning lady
Last seen alive by hotel clerk night before
Pick-up truck parked in parking lot, Florida
plates
Killing Mules I, cont.
• Syringe still in left hand, top of fist, on
table, with syringe facing away from
deceased
• No visible scaring or “track marks”
• No Tattoos
• Both plastic hotel room key cards in
room
Killing Mules I, cont.
• No evidence of other narcotics, alcohol,
trash, bathroom clean, bed still made
• Room is “clean”
• “Overdose”
• No legal evidence to label this a
homicide
Killing Mules II
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Motel
Hispanic male lying between beds
Found by cleaning lady
Last seen alive by hotel clerk night before
Bags with Cuba tags; route Cuba to
Ontario, Canada then Newark Airport
• Rent Porn movies
Killing Mules II, cont.
Autopsy notification; tried all day with
wife’s co-workers
Called home repeatedly, no answer
10 pm left message
She calls back immediately and
understandably refuses to believe the
reality of what has happen
Killing Mules II, cont.
• He was going to open a restaurant, they
had just married
• Deceased was in a great need for start-up
money for the restaurant
• Wife was unaware of what he was doing
and only knew he had gone away on
business
• Planned to open the business once he
return from the trip
Girl in Mother’s Home
• Syringe in arm
• Covered with tattoos
• Recently fired from job at doctors office due
to stealing blank prescription forms
• Wealthy family and a very nice home
• Family was concerned neighbors and friends
would read about overdose in the newspaper
Last Seen Alive
Teen user
Last seen alive by local police and friend
Considered detaining
Due to problems with family claiming officer was
targeting son and harassing him officer did not
detain
Later found deceased in basement at home
Syringe in ankle
Placed on Sidewalk
Party at home for business owners workers
Deceased found outside of home on sidewalk
Clearly body was moved based on rigor mortis being
broken and position
Syringe found in sock on body
911 call came to PD from nearest payphone, video
surveillance from bank showed homeowner’s car
passing bank just prior and after the phone call
Coin in phone box matched homeowners prints
Suicide, with Cat
Older female with cat lost job, and being
evicted
Used NyQuil gel caps to overdose
Also tried to give away her cat, but when no
one wanted it she poisoned it as well.
Her cause of death was respiratory depression
due to diphenhydramine overdose
Russian Lady
Middle-aged female Russian used book called Final
Exit as a guide to taking her life
She had been arrested for shoplifting
Due to the family shame she took her life using a
combination of diphenhydramine and also had
with her a bottle of cyanide, which she did not use
Final Exit is sold in the self-help section of some
major books stores
Dr. Happy
Pain Clinic doctors
Many are considered nothing more than drug pushers
Dr. Happy had months earlier, emailed a prescription
to a guy no more than 18 years old. The
prescription was for 400 tablets of Xanax
(Alprazolam, benzodiazepine)
The 18 year old was found dead a few days after
coming out of Re-hab
Dr. Happy, cont.
After coming home to live with his mother and
father following re-hab , he was invited to a party
at a residence across the street from his home
He enjoyed the party but was found dead in one of
the beds at the home
Back at his home was found the 400 tablets of Xanax
with other unfilled prescriptions
Dr. Happy was suspected of providing the
medications causing the young man’s death
Dr. Happy, cont.
Conversation with Dr. Happy
He somehow got himself mixed up with some very
bad people
They were using his name and prescription license to
send 1000’s of prescriptions to anyone who wanted
one over the internet
He had never examined or saw the deceased young
man or any of the 1000’s sent prescriptions
Conversation with Dr. happy was like a confession.
Dr. Happy, cont.
• The young man died as a result of stealing the
grandmother’s medication where the party was
being held.
• He did not die due to Dr. Happy’s prescriptions
• Later the DEA kicked in Dr. Happy’s door, but
the fate of Dr. Happy is unknown.