Download Drugs - Warren County Schools

Drugs
What is a drug?
• A drug is defined as a natural or synthetic
substance that is used to produce a
physiological or psychological effect in
humans or other animals.
• Marijuana is the most widely used illicit
drug in the US.
• 90 million Americans drink alcohol
regularly and 10 million of these people
abuse alcohol
Drug Use in the US
• 23 million people in the US are users of
illegal drugs
• 500,000 are heroin addicts
• 6 million are cocaine addicts
• 75% of evidence processed in forensic labs
is drug related
Toxicology
• Toxicology is the study of poisons and the
ID of drugs and other substances a person
may have used for medicinal, recreational
or criminal purposes.
• Toxicity is the degree to which a substance
is poisonous or can cause injury.
Drug Dependence
• There are many factors to consider when
determining an individual’s dependence on
drugs.
• There are generally two routes examined:
• 1. Psychological dependence- largely
depends on the nature of the drug used
• 2. Physical dependence- occurs when drug
users adhere to a regular schedule
Drug Dependence
• Drugs such as marijuana, LSD and cocaine
create strong anxieties when use is
discontinued, but no medical evidence
exists to support physiological dependency.
• Drugs such as alcohol, heroin and
barbiturates can result in physical
dependency.
Narcotics
• Derived from the Greek word narkotikos,
meaning sluggish or lethargic
• These drugs relieve pain and produce sleep.
• They are analgesics, meaning that they
relieve pain by exerting a depressing action
on the central nervous system.
• ie: opium, heroin, codeine
Death by Narcotics
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Signs of overdoseDifficulty breathing
Low blood pressure
Weakness/dizziness
Confusion
Coma
Small pupils
Hallucinogens
• Derived from plants
• Affect user’s thinking, perceptions and selfawareness
• Examples: LSD(odorless and colorless),
PCP(angel dust), MDMA (ecstacy)
Overdose of Hallucinogens
•
•
•
•
•
•
SymptomsIncreased heart rate and blood pressure
Hallucinations/euphoria
Dry mouth
Anxiety, muscle cramps, stroke
Dilated pupils
Stimulants
• Increase energy, alertness, and decrease
appetite
• Users may “crash” when drug wears off
becoming depressed
• Examples: crack, cocaine, amphetamines,
methamphetamines
Overdose of Stimulants
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
SymptomsHigh blood pressure/ rapid heart rate
Stroke
Bleeding in the brain
Tremors
Seizures
Dilated pupils
Methamphetamine
• Intravenous use of methamphetamine is the
most common delivery system.
• Users experience a rush followed by intense
euphoria for days…along with anxiousness
and even hallucinations.
• Smokable meth is called “ice”. When meth
is slowly evaporated to solid form it may be
smoked and the effects last longer than
crack.
Meth
• User may become paranoid, violent and
exhibit acute psychosis.
• After meth wears off, the user may sleep for
days and is totally exhausted. Many
become depressed for weeks after use,
leading to psychological dependence.
Anabolic Steroids
• Promote cell growth and division
• Produced in the lab with a structure similar
to testosterone
• Can be used to treat hypogonadism, delayed
puberty and impotence
• Side-effects- acne, increased body hair, high
blood pressure and cholesterol
Depressants
• Used to relieve anxiety and produce sleep
• User becomes calm, all bodily functions
slow down
• Examples: alcohol, barbituates,
benzodiazepines
• Side effects- slurred speech, loss of
coordination, slowed breathing and heart
rate
Club Drugs
• Synthetic drugs used at night clubs, bars,
etc.
• MDMA, GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate),
Rohypnol (Roofies), ketamine, and Meth
• GHB and Rohypnol cause users to feel
drowsy, sluggish and maybe even loss of
consciousness and ability to remember the
hours after consuming the drug, thus they
are referred to as date-rape drugs
• They are colorless and tasteless
Cocaine
• In the late 1800s, Sigmund Freud
“discovered” a new drug that had a
“seemingly limitless potential as a source of
exhilaration and lasting euphoria.” This
allowed intensive mental or physical work
without the need for food or sleep.
• Cocaine is derived from the leaves of a
plant grown in South America and tropical
Asia.
Coke- continued
• Most commonly snorted or may be injected
• Produces a feeling of euphoria by
stimulating the pleasure center at the base of
the brain and nerves responsible for
emotions
• Crack is a form of coke mixed with baking
soda and water and heated. The crystals are
then broken off
• Nearly impossible to break yourself of the
crack habit
Columbian Cocaine Trade
• Most coke in the US is from columbia.
• Farmer is paid $200 for coca leaves to make
1 pound of coke. Product leaves Columbia
at $1000. Sells for $20,000 in the US.
• 75% of the cocaine in the US is from
Columbia
Schedules of Drugs
• Schedule I- no currently accepted medical
use and a high potential for abuse
• Examples: Marijuana, Heroin, LSD, ecstacy
• Schedule II- high possibility for abuse and
addiction
• Examples: Meth, oxycontin, adderall, ritalin
• Schedule III-low potential for physical and
psychological dependence
Schedule of Drugs
• Examples: Hydrocodone (Vicodin), tylenol
with codeine, ketamine, testosterone
• Schedule IV-low potential for abuse and low
risk of dependence
• Examples: xanax, soma, darvoset, ativan,
ambien
• Schedule V- lower risk for dependence than
schedule IV, limited quantity of narcotics
• Examples: Robitussin, Lomotil, Lyrica
Drug Control Laws
• Penalties often depend of the weight of drug
or its concentration in the mixture. These
things affect the way a forensic scientist
approaches analysis.
• National and Local law enforcement and
political and moral philosophies shape the
laws that surround drugs and alcohol.
Controlled Substances Act
• Put in place by federal government. Many
states use this as a guideline for their drug
laws.
• It is responsible for the schedules
previously discussed.
• It also has a clause that an offense involving
a controlled substance analog (similar in
potency as other drugs but different
chemical structure) carries a schedule I
penalty.
Controlled Substances Act
• This is to prevent designer drugs being
manufactured in clandestine laboratories.
• Example: China White- 10 times more
potent than morphine, caused many deaths
in CA and PA
• This act also regulates the manufacture and
distribution of precursor drugs.
Example penalties
• Criminal penalties for Individual trafficking
(first offense)
• Schedule I- 0-20 years/$1 million
• Schedule II- 0-20 years/$1 million
• Schedule III- 0-5 years/$250,000
• Schedule IV-0-3 years/$250,000
• Schedule V-0-1 year/$100,000
Forensic Drug Analysis
• Color tests can determine if drug is present,
but is never used as a final ID of drug
presence:
• 1) Marquis- purple when mixed with
opiates, heroin and morphine: orange-brown
in meth and amphetamines
• 2) Dillie-Koppanyi- Turns violet blue in
presence of barbituates
Forensic Drug Analysis
• 3) Duquenois-Levine- a series of chemical
solutions added to marijuana, turns purple
when chloroform is added
• 4) Van Urk- blue-purple in presence of LSD
• 5) Scott test- color test for cocaine, turns
cobalt thiocyanate solution blue, add HCl
and it turns clear pink, add chloroform and a
blue color is present in that layer
Forensic Drug Analysis
• Chromatography- TLC is used to determine
presence of certain drugs based on their
movement up with the solvent. They must
be compared to known samples.
• Gas Chromatography (GC)- can detect
nanograms of material present in a sample,
similar in process to TLC, but in a packed
silica column
Forensic Drug Analysis
• Spectrophotometry may also be used- UVVis or IR
• Both produce patterns that are unique to
functional groups in the materials tested.
When compared to a known sample, the test
is fairly definitive.
• Mass spectrometry- uses mass of substances
and their fragments to determine ID of
substance
Positive ID
• IR spectrometry and GC-MS are the most
used methods of ID for drugs. These are
the reports that will hold up in court.
Collecting Drug Evidence
• Since the types of drugs and the state of
matter may vary it is best to use common
sense when packaging the drugs.
• Be sure that none of the sample will be lost.
Also be careful that no cross-contamination
occurs.
• Volatile solvents, like those used in huffing,
must be packed in air-tight containers to
prevent escape.
Organic and Biotoxins
• Organic toxins are produced by living
organisms. They are proteins that can be
absorbed by another organism that affects
that organism’s metabolism.
• Venom is an example of such a toxin.
• Biotoxins are poisons that come from plants
or animals.
Bacterial Toxins
• Botulism is the most poisonous toxin
known to humans.
• It acts as a neurotoxin, paralyzing muscles
by releasing a neurotransmitter,
acetylcholine. An antitoxin made from
horse serum can be administered if caught
in time.
• If not caught in time, painful muscle spasms
occur before death.
Bacterial toxins
• Clostridium tetani, produces tetanus, a
deadly nervous system disease.
• The bacterium releases tetanospasmin, a
poison that blocks nerve signals from the
spinal cord to muscles.
• Muscle spasms are so severe that they can
tear muscles or fracture bones.
• Can interfere with breathing and often starts
in the jaw…
Bacterial toxins
• Anthrax- bacillus anthracis
• Can be ingested, inhaled or absorbed
through skin
• If inhaled, death is the usual outcome.
• Only 20% of people die if it is absorbed
through skin.
• Ingestion is fatal in 25-60% of cases.
• In 2001, anthrax was sent by mail to 22
individuals, half of whom died.
Other biotoxins
• Abrin-derived from rosary peas, inhibits
protein synthesis, leading to cell death
• Symptoms are profuse vomiting and
diarrhea followed by organ failure
• Ricin- similar in mechanism to abrin,
from castor beans
• Death within 36-72 hours after exposure
Other biotoxins
• Strychine-source, a plant found in
southern Asia and Australia, bitter
taste, white powder
• Used primarily as a pesticide to kill
rats
• Sometimes mixed with street drugs
• Affects muscles and produces spasms,
eventually person tires out and cannot
breathe
Other biotoxins
• Tetrodotoxin-found in puffer fish and blue
octopus
• Signs of exposure- gastrointestinal pain,
vomiting and diarrhea
• Weakness and cranial nerve dysfunction