1. Frequently Abused Drugs

2. Types of Drugs
Hallucinogens
Stimulants
Narcotics
Depressants

3. Hallucinogens
Most naturally occurring substances that can change normal thought processes, perceptions, and moods
Examples:
Marijuana
LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide) (“acid”)
PCP (phencyclidine)
MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine) (“ecstasy”)
Ketamine (“Special K”)

4. Stimulants
Act on the central nervous system to make the user feel better and increase his or her energy alertness while suppressing appetite and fatigue.
Range from mild to strong
Examples:
Caffeine – not a controlled substance
Amphetamines
Methamphetamines
Cocaine
Nicotine – not a controlled substance

5. Narcotics
Narcotics are analgesics, meaning they affect the central nervous system to relieve pain
Mild forms of analgesics are found in over-the-counter drugs such as aspirin, Tylenol, and Motrin.
Examples:
Opium
Heroin
Codeine
Methadone
Propoxyphene (Darvon)
Oxycodon (Percocet)
Fentanyl

6. Depressants Reduces excitability and calms a person Examples:
Ethyl alcohol – not a controlled substance
Barbiturates
Phenobarbital
Meprobamate (Miltown)
Methaqualone (Quaaludes)
Benzodiazepines (Librium and Valium)

7. Testing the Unknown Spot (Color) Tests - Presumptive
Chromatography - Confirmatory
Infrared Spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry - Confirmatory

8. Spot (Color) Tests
A chemical reaction that occurs when a particular substance is added to an unknown
Color reactions are an easy and quick method to detect certain substances
Spot tests are often called presumptive tests because they may return a false positive  further tests must be run to determine what is actually present (chromatography or infrared spectroscopy)

9. Spot (Color) Tests
Duquenois-Levine for Marijuana (blue-violet is positive)
Erlich/Van Urk for LSD (blue-violet is positive)
Marquis for amphetamines and heroin (red-orange to brown is positive for amphetamines and purple is positive for heroin)
Cobalt Thiocyanate for cocaine (blue flaky precipitate is positive)
Dille-Koppanyi for barbiturates (violet is positive)

10. Color Test for Cocaine

11. Chromatography Separate the components of a mixture
Several types of chromatography
Gas Chromatography
Liquid Chromatography
High-Performance Liquid Chromatography
Paper Chromatography
Thin-Layer Chromatography
With all types of chromatography, particles are separated by size & shape due to capillary action

12. Spectroscopy/Spectrometry
In both tests, molecules become excited
The results of these tests are unique for each chemical compound, therefore a catalog has been created to which an unknown sample can be compared

13. IR Spectroscopy of Cocaine

14. Gas Chromatography & Mass Spectrometry