Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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
– 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
Drug Schedules
• Schedule I:
• Drugs with high potential for abuse and addiction, NO
medical value
Ex: Heroin, LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide), Ecstasy,
Marijuana
• Schedule II:
• Drugs with high potential for abuse and addiction, have
some medical value with restrictions
Ex: PCP (1-(1-phenylcyclohexyl)piperidine)), Cocaine,
Amphetamines, Most Opiates, Some Barbiturates
Drug Schedules
• Schedule III:
• Drugs with less potential for abuse and
addiction, currently acceptable for medical
use
Ex: Some Barbiturates, Codeine, Steroids
• Schedule IV:
• Drugs with low potential for abuse and
addiction, currently acceptable for medical
use
Ex: Tranquilizers like Valium, Xanax,
Librium
Drug Schedules
• Schedule V:
• Drugs with low potential abuse,
medical use, lowest potential
dependency
• Ex: Some Opiates with Non-Narcotic
Ingredients
Role of the Toxicologist
• Must identify one of thousands of
drugs and poisons
• Must find nanogram to microgram
quantities dissipated throughout the
entire body
• Not always looking for exact
chemicals, but metabolites of
desired chemicals (ex. heroin
morphine within seconds)
Toxicology Procedures
• 10mL of blood in airtight container
– Add anticoagulant
– Add preservative
• 2 consecutive urine samples
– Some drugs take a while to show up in
urine (1-3 days)
• Vitreous humor
is the clear gel that fills the space between the
lens and the retina of the eyeball of humans
• Hair samples
Toxicology Procedures
• Screening-
– quick test to narrow down possibilities
– color tests, TLC, GC, immunoassay
• Confirmation-
– determines exact identity
– GC/Mass Spec
• Blood Tests
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.
The Breathalyzer
The Breathalyzer Con’t
• The Breathalyzer traps 1/40 of 2100
milliliters of alveolar breath.
• Since the amount of alcohol in 2100
milliliters of breath approximates the
amount of alcohol in 1 milliliter of
blood—the Breathalyzer in
essence measures the alcohol
concentration present in 1/40 of a
milliliter of blood.
Breathalyzer Con’t
• Once the alveolar breath is trapped it is
allowed to undergo a chemical reaction:
• 1939-1964:
intoxicated =
0.15% BAC
• 1965: intoxicated =
0.10% BAC
• 2003: intoxicated =
0.08% BAC
Alcohol and the Law
• Try the drink wheel:
http://www.intox.com/wheel/drinkwheel.asp
The End