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Forensic Toxicology

Forensic Toxicology. Forensic Toxicology. Definition: The science of detecting and identifying the presence of drugs and poisons in body fluids, tissues, and organs. Controlled Substances Act. Federal Law established 5 schedules of classification of controlled substances based on

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Forensic Toxicology

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

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

  35. Alcohol and the Law • Try the drink wheel: http://www.intox.com/wheel/drinkwheel.asp

  36. A nerve cell

  37. http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/drugs/ • 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

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