DRUGS

1. DRUGS Chapter 5

2. Introduction • A natural or synthetic substance that produces physiological or psychological effects in humans or other animals. • Drugs • Sustain and prolong life • Escape from reality • Means of ending life • 75% of all evidence being • processed in crime labs is • related to illegal drugs DRUGS

3. DEA – NJ Drug Statistics NJ State Facts (http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/state_factsheets/newjersey.html) • Population: 8,717,925 • State Prison Population: 26,757 • Probation Population: 143,315 • Violent Crime Rate National Ranking: 26 2010 Federal Drug Seizures • Cocaine: 900.78 kg • Heroin: 140.21 kg • Methamphetamine: 47.94 kg/26 DU • Marijuana: 2,887.80kg • Hashish: 57.55 kg. • MDMA: 3,790 DU • Meth Lab Incidents: 3 (DEA, state, and local)

4. DEPENDENCE Two types of drug dependence Physical and Psychological: Psychological Dependence – Need drug to maintain emotional well-being Physical Dependence – Must maintain a regular schedule of intake or suffer physiological effects High potential: Alcohol, Heroin, Amphetamines, Barbiturates, Cocaine Low potential: Marijuana, Codeine

5. Narcotics • Narcotic drugs are analgesics, meaning they relieve pain by a depressing action on the central nervous system. This effects functions such as blood pressure, pulse rate and breathing rate. • The regular use of a narcotic drug will lead to physical dependence. • The most common source for narcotic drugs is opium, extracted from poppies.

6. Opiates • Morphine is extracted from opium and is used to make heroin. • Heroin produces a “high” that is accompanied by drowsiness and a sense of well-being that generally last for three to four hours. • Codeine is usually prepared synthetically from morphine. DRUGS

7. Other Opiates • OxyContin, with the active ingredient oxycodone, is a synthetic compound that has the same effects on the body as do opium narcotics. • OxyContin is prescribed to a million patients for treatment of severe and chronic pain caused by terminal cancer and other end-stage diseases. • Methadone is another well-known synthetic opiate used to lessen the physical effects of heroin withdrawal. DRUGS

8. Hallucinogens • Another class of drugs is hallucinogens. The most well-known member of this class is marijuana. • Hallucinogens cause severe changes in normal thought processes, perceptions, and moods. • Marijuana is the most controversial drug in this class because its long-term effects on health are still largely unknown. DRUGS

9. Marijuana • Marijuana is derived from the plant Cannabis sativa. • The active chemical substance in marijuana is known as tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. • The THC content of Cannabis generally declines with the highest level in plant resin, flowers, leaves and the smallest level in the stem, roots or seeds. • Marijuana does not cause physical dependency, but health risks are not well known and heavy, long-term use is believed to cause the most harm. DRUGS

10. Hallucinogens include LSD, mescaline, PCP, psilocybin, and MDMA (Ecstasy). LSD is synthesized from lysergic acid, and can cause hallucinations that can last for 12 hours. During the Middle Ages, consuming moldy grain that was contaminated with Ergot caused hallucinations. PCP gives inflated feelings of strength and invincibility, then violence, depression and suicide. Phencyclidine, or PCP, is most often produced in illegal “laboratories”. Phencyclidine is often mixed with other drugs, such as LSD, or amphetamine, and is sold as a powder (“angel dust”), capsule, or tablet. Other Hallucinogens DRUGS

11. Depressants • Depressants are another class of drugs. • Depressants are substances used to depress the functions of the central nervous system. • Depressants calm irritability and anxiety and may induce sleep. • Examples: (ingested) alcohol, barbiturates, tranquilizers, (sniffed) airplane glue, model cement, or aerosol gas propellants such as nitrou oxide and freon. DRUGS

12. Depressants • Alcohol (ethyl alcohol) enters the bloodstream and quickly travels to the brain, where it suppresses control of thought processes and muscle coordination. • Barbiturates, (downers) taken orally, create a feeling of well-being, relax the body, and induce sleep. • Tranquilizers, differ from barbiturates by producing tranquil feelings without impairment of high-skilled brain functions or inducing sleep. • Sniffing compounds has immediate effects such as exhilaration, but impairs judgment and may cause liver, heart, and brain damage, or even death. DRUGS

13. Stimulants • This drug classification of stimulants includes amphetamines, sometimes known as “uppers” or “speed,” and cocaine, which in its free-base form is known as crack. • Stimulants are substances taken to increase alertness or activity, followed by a decrease in fatigue and a loss of appetite. DRUGS

14. Stimulants • Amphetamine and methamphetamine, often injected intravenously, cause an initial “rush”. • This is followed by a period of exhaustion and a prolonged period of depression. • Cocaine, extracted from the leaves of the coca plant, increases alertness and energy, and suppresses hunger, fatigue. • Crack is cocaine mixed with baking soda and water, then heated. • Crack is often smoked in glass pipes, and like cocaine stimulates the brain to produce endorphins. DRUGS

15. Club Drugs • The term club drugs refers to synthetic drugs that are used at nightclubs and bars. • Club drugs: MDMA (Ecstasy), GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate), Rohypnol (“Roofies”), ketamine, and methamphetamine. • GHB and Rohypnol are central nervous system depressants that are often connected with drug-facilitated sexual assault, rape, and robbery. DRUGS

16. Club Drugs • Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as MDMA or Ecstasy, is a synthetic mind-altering drug that exhibits many hallucinogenic and amphetamine-like effects. • Ecstasy enhances self-awareness and decreases inhibitions, however, seizures, muscle breakdown, stroke, kidney failure, and cardiovascular system failure often accompany chronic abuse. • Ketamine is primarily used as a veterinary animal anesthetic that in humans causes euphoria and hallucinations. • Ketamine can also cause impaired motor functions, high blood pressure, amnesia, and mild respiratory depression. DRUGS

17. Anabolic Steroids • Synthetic compounds that are chemically related to the male sex hormone testosterone. • Anabolic steroids are often abused by individuals who are interested in rapid increases in muscle growth. • Side effects include unpredictable effects on mood and personality, depression, diminished sex drive, halting bone growth, and liver cancer. DRUGS

18. Drug-Control Laws • The U.S. federal law known as the Controlled Substances Act will serve to illustrate a legal drug-classification system created to prevent and control drug abuse. • This federal law establishes five schedules of classification for controlled dangerous substances based on the drug’s • potential for abuse • potential for physical and psychological dependence • medical use/value DRUGS

19. Schedule I – drugs have a high potential for abuse and have no currently accepted medical use such as heroin, marijuana, methaqualone, and LSD. Schedule II – drugs have a high potential for abuse and have medical use with severe restrictions such as cocaine, PCP, and most amphetamine and barbiturate prescriptions. Schedule III – drugs have less potential for abuse and a currently accepted medical use such as all barbiturate prescriptions not covered under Schedule II, such as codeine and anabolic steroids. Schedule IV – drugs have a low potential for abuse and have a current medical use such as darvon, phenobarbital, and some tranquilizers such as diazepam (valium) and chlordiazepoxide (librium). Schedule V – drugs must show low abuse potential and have medical use such as opiate drug mixtures that contain nonnarcotic medicinal ingredients. Schedules of Classification DRUGS

20. Preliminary Analysis • Unknown compounds are subjected to screening tests in the field which can reduce the possible chemical(s) to a small and manageable number. • Suspect material is subjected to a series of different color tests that will produce characteristic colors for the more common illicit drugs. • Microcrystalline tests can also be used to identify specific drug substances by studying the size and shape of crystals formed when the drug is mixed with specific reagents (such as water, alcohol, acetone). DRUGS

21. Unknown Compound Color Tests • Marquis – liquid reagent turns purple when positive for opium-based drugs (heroin, morphine) and orange-brown when positive for amphetamines and methamphetamines. • Dillie-Koppanyl – reagent turns violet-blue when positive for barbiturates • Duqenois-Levine – series of chemicals to test for marijuana • Van Urk – (not used in the field) tests for LSD • Scott – three solution test for the presence of cocaine. Positive color sequence is blue-pink-blue.

22. Confirmation Determination • Forensic chemists will employ a specific test to identify a drug substance to the exclusion of all other known chemical substances. • Typically infrared spectrophotometry or gas chromatography-mass spectrometry is used to specifically identify a drug substance. DRUGS

23. Qualitative vs. Quantitative • Analytical techniques must give either a qualitative or a quantitative result. Qualitative gives only the identity of the suspect material. Quantitative gives the percent composition of the different elements in a mixture. DRUGS

24. Chromatography Chromatography is a means of separating and identifying the components of a mixture. • Theory of chromatography is that chemical substances partially escape into the surrounding environment when dissolved in a liquid or when absorbed on a solid surface. • Materials that have a preference for the moving phase will slowly pull ahead and separate from those substances that prefer to remain in the stationary phase. DRUGS

25. TLC Solid stationary phase (usually coated onto a glass plate) and a mobile liquid phase to separate the components of the mixture. • The liquid will move up the plate by capillary action. • The sample travels between the stationary phase (plate) and the moving liquid phase. • Most compounds are colorless so results must be viewed by placing the plates under UV light or spraying the plate with a chemical reagent. • The distance a spot travels up a thin-layer plate can be measured as a numerical value or the Rf value. DRUGS

26. Calculating Rf Values The distance moved by a pigment is compared to the distance moved by the solvent front. We call this relationship the retention time or Rf value and define it as follows: Rf = Distance moved by the pigment Distance from pigment origin to solvent front Paper chromatography can be used to identify substances both qualitatively (by color) and quantitatively by its characteristic Rf value.

27. Gas Chromatography In GC, the moving phase is actually a gas called the carrier gas, which flows through a column. • The stationary phase is a thin film of liquid contained within the column. • After a mixture has traversed the length of the column, it will become separated into its components. • Chromatogram: The printed record of the separation. • Retention Time: The time required for a component to come out of a GC column. DRUGS

28. Marijuana Testing The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regulates marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). substances. Within this CSA framework, marijuana is placed into Schedule 1. Many testing methods are used for detecting THC in saliva: radio immunoassay (RIA) method, gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC-ECD), and liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is the preferred method for analysis - screening and confirmation in one step.3 GC/MS is extremely selective and sensitive, enabling routine analysis of THC in saliva at the low levels required by most regulatory bodies. Testing for prosecution is actively pursued EVERYDAY. REMEMBER: Marijuana is still considered a Schedule I drug by the U.S. Government - federal laws trump state or local laws. Source: Forensic Magazine 23-29 10-17-2010

29. Spectrophotometry Spectrophotometry measures the quantity of radiation that a particular material absorbs as a function of wavelength and frequency. • Beer’s Law: The quantity of light absorbed at any frequency is directly proportional to the concentration of the absorbing substance. DRUGS

30. UVand IR Spectrophotometry • Most forensic laboratories use UV and IR spectrophotometers to identify chemical compounds. • The UV spectrum is simple enough to determine the general identity of an unknown substance. • The IR spectrum is much more exact; each IR spectrum is equivalent to a “fingerprint” of that substance. DRUGS

31. The Spectrophotometer • Measures the light absorption spectrum of a chemical substance. • The components of a spectrophotometer are: • A radiation source • A monochromator or frequency selector • A sample holder • A detector to convert electromagnetic radiation into an electrical signal • A recorder to produce a record of the signal • The light source can be the visible, ultraviolet (UV) or infrared (IR) DRUGS

32. Mass Spectrometry • In the mass spectrometer, a beam of high-energy electrons collide with a sample, producing positively charged ions. • These positive ions almost instantaneously decompose into numerous fragments, which are separated according to their masses. • The unique feature of mass spectrometry is that under carefully controlled conditions, no two substances produce the same fragment pattern. DRUGS

33. GC and Mass • The GC column and the mass spectrometer can be connected. • The separation of a mixture’s components is first accomplished by the GC. • Then, fragmentation of each separated component by high-energy electrons in the mass spectrometer, will produce a distinct pattern, or a “fingerprint” of the sample being examined. DRUGS

34. Collection and Preservation • The evidence must be properly packaged and labeled for the laboratory. • Common sense is the best guide, the package must prevent the loss of the sample contents and/or cross-contamination with another sample. • The original container in which the drug was seized will be suffcient. • All samples must be marked with information that will ensure identification in the future and establish the chain of custody. DRUGS