Drug Classification & Testing

1. Drug Classification & Testing February 15, 2019

2. A drug is a substance that is designed to affect the body either physically or psychologically • Controlled substances are all drugs whose use and/or possession are somehow restricted by law. Definitions Name a controlled substance. Name a drug that is not a controlled substance.

3. Categorizes drugs into 5 “schedules” based upon potential for abuse and whether or not there are accepted medical reasons for using them • Schedule 1 is most dangerous • Criminal penalties are defined – more or less – for possession or use drugs in each schedule Controlled Substances Act

4. Controlled Substances Act schedules Place these drugs in the correct group! Ambien – Anabolic steroids – Cocaine – Codeine – Ecstasy - Heroin – Marijuana – Methamphetamine – Ritalin – Robitussin AC - Vicodin – Valium –

5. Controlled Substances Act schedules Place these drugs in the correct group! Ambien – IV Anabolic steroids – III Cocaine – II Codeine – II Ecstasy - I Heroin – I Marijuana – I Methamphetamine – II Ritalin – II Robitussin AC - V Vicodin – III Valium – IV

6. Marijuana is a schedule 1 drug, despite the mounting evidence that it has some medical benefits and the evidence that it causes minimal physical dependency. **note, this doesn’t mean its safe! ** • Alcohol and nicotine are not scheduled at all (though they are considered controlled substances) despite evidence which shows that alcohol and nicotine cause significantly physical and psychological dependency. • Why might this be? Surprising aspects to the DEA Controlled Substance Schedules

7. Hallucinogens • Change normal thought processes, perceptions, and moods • Work by affecting signaling in brain (by binding to and changing neurotransmitter receptors) • Examples: marijuana, LSD, PCP, ecstasy, ketamine Stimulants • Increase energy and alertness, decrease appetite • Work by stimulating (speeding up) central nervous system • Examples: caffeine, methamphetamines, cocaine, nicotine Narcotics • Relieve pain (act as analgesics), cause sleepiness and constipation • Work by depressing (slowing down) central nervous system • Examples: codeine, heroin, oxycodon (Percocet) Depressants • Cause relaxation, slowed responses, includes antianxiety and antipsychotic drugs • Work by depressing (slowing down) central nervous system • Examples: alcohol, barbiturates, valium Classification by pharmacological effect Do you know major drug classes and examples? Take a guess!

8. Fentanyl • Used in combination with other medicines as an anesthetic during surgery or used as a patch for chronic pain management • 100 times stronger than morphine • Many ‘designer drugs’ are based off of it (e.g. China White). Sometimes heroin is laced with it, causing disastrous results. CAS schedule: Pharmacological group: Adderall • Used for ADHD and narcolepsy • Improves mental performance • Common drug of abuse CAS schedule: Pharmacological group: Classify the following drugs according to both schemes, and justify your choices II narcotic II stimulant

9. Xanax • Anti-anxiety medication • Causes physical and psychological dependency • Can be a drug of abuse CAS schedule: Pharmacological group: Bath salts • Recreational drugs containing cathinone, which is similar to but milder than amphetamine • Increases energy, can cause agitation, violent behavior, or paranoia CAS schedule: Pharmacological group: Classify the following drugs according to both schemes, and justify your choices IV depressant I stimulant

10. What is the difference between a presumptive test and a confirmatory test? • Presumptive tests have high false positives; they indicate that a substance may be present. • Confirmatory tests do not have false positives; a positive result confirms that a substance really is present. Why do a presumptive test? • Presumptive tests are usually quick, inexpensive, and can often be done on the field. This can help guide police and can let them know whether a more time consuming and expensive confirmatory test should be done. Drug AnalysisVocab Review

11. Examples: • Cobalt thiocynate turns blue when it contacts cocaine (or benadryl) • Marquis reagent turns purple when it contacts heroin or morphine (or medicines with codeine) Procedure: • Add a test chemical to an unknown substance. If the drug is present, the chemical will react and change color. • Different test chemicals for different drugs • Investigators can use a well plate to quickly and easily check for the presence of many different types of drugs Color Spot Tests Presumptive or confirmatory?

12. Vibrating molecule • Spectroscopy involves passing a beam of light through a substance and recording how much light is transmitted through the substance. • Light that is not transmitted must have been absorbed by the substance. • Infra-red (IR) light is used to analyze drugs because IR light occurs at the right frequencies to excite the bonds between molecules. When the bonds are excited, the light is absorbed IR Spectroscopy • The absorption / transmission patterns are unique to the chemical since the combination of bonds in a chemical are unique.

13. X axis are wave numbers (number of waves in one cm) of light waves • Y axis is transmission of light • The overall shape of the spectra and the absorbance peaks are compared to determine the identity of a chemical Sample IR spectra - cocaine What is the relationship between transmittance and absorbance? 100-TRANS = ABS What are the major absorbance peaks for cocaine? 1282.3, 1713.6, etc.

14. Why do chemicals have unique IR spectra? Because the collection of bonds is unique – though chemically similar compounds will have similar spectra Is IR-Spectroscopy a presumptive or confirmatory test? confirmatory More IR Spectra

15. This machine combines two procedures to analyze chemicals: • Gas chromatography (GC) • Mass spectrometry (MS) GC – Mass Spectrometry • Gas chromatography is used first to separate a mixture into its components. • The mixture is vaporized into gases • The gases travel through a long tube to the MS machine. • The different components separate by time according to how easily each is vaporized and how quickly each travels.

16. GC – Mass Spectrometry The mass spectrometer is then used to produce the mass spectrum of each component gas. • Each gas is blasted with electrons to ionize it – break it into smaller ions. • The mass / charge ratio of each ion is measured (m/z). • The mass spectra of different chemicals are nearly unique (there are a few VERY similar chemicals that cannot be differentiated via GC-MS, such as. stereoisomers) Watch me! Presumptive or confirmatory? Confirmatory – at least for very closely related compounds

17. What is actually measured in each of the three tests discussed? Spot color tests – looking for color change, indicates a chemical reaction has taken place IR spectrophotometry– measure absorbance of energy (light) by the bonds in a molecule GC-MS – measures the mass and charge of ions produced when a chemical is first separated then ionized. Most forensic investigations will utilize two of the three tests. Why use two tests? Which two would you use? Use spot color test first because it is quick and cheap. Use EITHER IR spectrophotometry or GC-MS to confirm. Quick Review