1. Forensic Toxicology

2. Forensic Toxicology Definition:
The science of detecting and identifying the presence of drugs and poisons in body fluids, tissues, and organs.

3. Controlled Substances Act
Federal Law established 5 schedules of classification of controlled substances based on
Drug’s potential for abuse
Potential to physical and psychological dependence
Medical Value
Note: Federal law also controls materials that are used in making drugs and those that are manufactured to resemble drugs

4. Prison sentences in US Highest in world 750 out of 100,00 people
70% are drug abuse cases

5. Drug Schedules Schedule I:
Drugs with high potential for abuse and addiction, NO medical value
Ex: Heroin, LSD, Ecstasy, Marijuana
Schedule II:
Drugs with high potential for abuse and addiction, have some medical value with restrictions
Ex: Cocaine, Amphetamines

6. Drug Schedules Schedule III:
Drugs with less potential for abuse and addiction, currently acceptable for medical use
Ex: Codeine, Steroids
Schedule IV:
Drugs with low potential for abuse and addiction, currently acceptable for medical use
Ex: Tranquilizers like Valium

7. Drug Schedules Schedule V:
Drugs with low potential abuse, medical use, lowest potential dependency
Ex: Some Opiates with Non-Narcotic Ingredients

8. Poisonous chemicals introduced in body
Arsenic
Cadmium
Nickel
lead

9. How do folks get drugs From legal medicine From over 18 folks
From peers (most common)
From adults at home (prescriptions)

10. How are drugs taken in Under skin Pills orally in mouth IV – heroin
Sniffed cocaine

11. Withdrawal symtoms Restless, muscle pain Insomnia, diarrhea
Cold sweat, dilated pupils
Tremors, panic
Shallow breathing
stroke

12. People who died of overdose
Know which drug:
Jim Morrison
Janis Joplin
John Belushi

13. Mixing drugs Pure cocaine – from coca plant Crack cocaine – mixed
Speed ball – an upper (cocaine) plus a downer (heroin)

14. How do drugs work Some are hallucigens like LSD
Causes changes in emotions, thinking, memory
From fungus- LSD is odorless, colorless, tasteless- eaten as a capsule

15. Norcotics Feel No pain Like heroin, morphine
Happy, dizzy, drowsy, not hungry, pupils drawn towards each other, cannot use rest room, heart races

16. Cocaine Appetite suppressant Initial euphoria Lose weight
Can stay awake
Very expense

17. Crack cocaine Cheaper Very dangerous Causes heart attacks
Most hospital cases for drug abuse

18. Marijuana – to legalize or not to legalize
Plant has more than 60 different chemicals called cannabinoids that can give a high
Has receptor in brain
More in the frontal lobes, induces deep sleep
No receptors in brain stem

19. Marijuana continued Receptors in spleen- reduces stress
Does not cause overdose
The receptors the cannabinoids bind to is used by a normal endorphin, Anandamoids
Used throughout history as pain killers

20. Anandamoids An endorphin (natural pain killer)
Induced naturally by activity such as in pregnancy- when fetal cells bind to uterus
Making love
Eating spicy foods, chocolate
Endorphins also called runners high

21. Marijuana continued Deaths per year due to marijuana use = 0
Deaths per year due to alcohol overdose – 331
Be able to argue 2 reasons why it should be legal and 2 reasons why it should not be legal

22. Toxicology samples blood 2 consecutive urine samples
Some drugs take a while to show up in urine (1-3 days)
Vitreous humor (fluid behind eye)
Hair samples

23. Color Tests Marquis Test: Scott Test: Three solutions
Turns purple in the presence of Heroin, morphine, opium
Turns orange-brown in presence of Amphetamines
Scott Test: Three solutions
Blue then pink then back to blue in the presence of Cocaine
Duquenois-Levine:
Test for marijuana –turns purple

24. More Analytical Tests Chromatography: separate drugs/tentative ID
Mass Spectrometry: chemical “fingerprint” no two drugs fragment the same

25. Why? Think of all the people that you have “heard” do drugs.
US drug manufacturers produce enough barbiturates and tranquilizers each year to give every person in the US 40 pills
(that’s about 12 billion pills)
18,000 out of 44,000 annual traffic deaths are alcohol related and send over 2 million people to the hospital

26. Toxicology of Alcohol Alcohol intoxication depends on
Amount of alcohol consumed
Time of consumption
Body weight
Rate of alcohol absorption

27. Fate of Alcohol Alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream
Distributed through-out the body’s water
And finally eliminated by oxidation and excretion

28. Analysis of BAC
Breath Tests
Field Sobriety Tests
Blood Tests

29. Breath Tests
A breath test reflects the alcohol concentration in the pulmonary artery.
One instrument used for breath tests is called The Breathalyzer.
The Breathalyzer is a device for collecting and measuring the alcohol content of alveolar breath.

30. The Breathalyzer

31. Field Sobriety Testing
Two reasons for the field sobriety test:
Used as a preliminary test to ascertain the degree of the suspect’s physical impairment
To see whether or not an evidential test is justified.

32. Field Sobriety Tests Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus
Involuntary eye jerk as eye moves horizontally
Walk and Turn (divided attention tasks)
One-Leg Stand

33. Parts of the brain affected by Alcohol
Alcohol 1st affects the forebrain and moves backward
Last affected is medulla oblongata

34. Alcohol and the Law 1939-1964: intoxicated = 0.15% BAC
At least we don’t live in France, Germany, Ireland, or Japan (0.05%) or especially Sweden (0.02%)!
Alcohol and the Law
: intoxicated = 0.15% BAC
1965: intoxicated = 0.10% BAC
2003: intoxicated = 0.08% BAC

35. Alcohol and the Law
Try the drink wheel:

36. A nerve cell

37.
Go to this site
go to the middle of the page and click on Mouse Party
Place each mouse in the chair to know
1. how the drug works in the brain
2. what does the drug do to the person