JS 112: Forensic Chemistry: Drugs/Tox

I. Pre Class Activities

a. Announcements and Assignments

II. Learning objectives

a. Drugs- What is a drug?
b. Define psychological and physical dependence
c. Name and classify commonly abused drugs
d. Describe tendency to develop psychological and physical dependency
for the more commonly abused drugs
e. Describe the schedules of Controlled Substances Act
f. Describe lab tests that forensic chemists normally rely upon to
comprise a routine drug id scheme
g. Discuss the proper collection and preservation of drug evidence

Web links toxicology: http://home.lightspeed.net/~abarbour/vlibft.html

 Assignments

a. Assignments:
a. Read Chapters 8 and 9- Drugs and Toxicology for weds.
b. Read Chapters 10 and 12 Bloodstains and Serology for mon.

a. Extra credit:Due Monday 19 April

a. Find 1 article on alcohol abuse leading to a fatality e.g. DUI from a news
story within the last 3 months.
b. Write a 300 word summary and 3 questions and 3 answers on the article. Be
prepared to discuss it in class.

b. Bring Lab books with Reports Weds-

c. Study for quiz for Monday 19 April on Drugs, Dr. Orrego Lecture and
Blood reading.
 What is a Drug?
• A drug is a natural or synthetic substance
that is used to produce physiological or
psychological effects in humans or other
higher order animals
 Drug Dependence
• Psychological dependence- The conditioned
use of a drug caused by underlying
emotional needs.
• Physical dependence- Physiological need
for a drug that has been brought about by its
regular use. Dependence is characterized by
withdrawal sickness when administration of
the drug is abruptly stopped.
Some Typical Drugs

Marijuana

Heroin Cocaine
 Potential of commonly abused drugs to produce
dependency with regular use
• Drug Psychological Physical
• Narcotics
– Morphine High Yes
– Heroin High Yes
– Methadone High Yes
– Codeine Low Yes
• Depressants
– Barbiturates (short-acting)High Yes
– Barbiturates (long-acting) Low Yes
– Alcohol High Yes
– Diazepam (Valium) Moderate Yes
• Stimulants
– Amphetamines High ?
– Cocaine High No
– Caffeine Low No (?)
– Nicotine High Yes
• Hallucinogens
– Marijuana Low No
– LSD Low No
– PCP High No
 Factors influencing control
• Individual, social, cultural, legal, and medical
• Weigh the beneficial aspects of the drug vs harm
the abuse will do to the individual and society
• Prohibition of alcohol led to disastrous failure
leading to the current debate over legalizing
marijuana- Balance between individual desires
and needs and society’s concern with the
consequences of drug abuse.
 Narcotic Drugs
• Narcotic- Analgesic or pain-killing substance that depresses vital
body functions such as blood pressure, pulse rate, and breathing rate.
The regular administration of narcotics will produce physical
dependence.
• Analgesic- A drug or substance that lessens or eliminates pain.
• Opium derivatives: Morphine, Heroin, Codeine derived from
opium.
• Opiates- not derived from opium but similar physiological effects
– OxyContin – oxycodon for chronic pain- abused by 250,000!
– Methadone- quelled addict desire for heroine. Now used for pain relief and is
abused increasingly
 Hallucinogens
Hallucinogen- A substance that induces changes in mood,
attitude, thought, or perception.
Examples:
Marijuana- Cannabis sativa L.: most widely used illicit
drug US
Hashish- sticky resin secretion extracted by soaking
in a solvent such as alcohol
Sensemilla-potent form of marijuana- unfertilized
flowering tops of female Cannabis plant
43 million tried it, 50% addicted
Hallucinogens- Marijuana
3000 years
2737 BC Emperor Shen Nung
1000 BC Hindu- India
500AD Persia and Arabia
1929 into US via Mexico
1964 discover tetrahydrocannabinol is
the substance responsible for
hallucinogenic property
 Hallucinogens- Marijuana
• Increased sense of well being
• Dreamy carefree state
• Vivid sense of touch, sight, smell, taste,
sound
• Hunger
• Craving sweets
• Not noticeably different from normal state
 Other Hallucinogens
• Lysergic acid diethylamide- LSD- derived from
fungus ergot attacking grasses: Potent 25 ug lasts 12
hours
• Mescaline
• Phencyclidine (PCP)-clan labs: 1-6mg feelings of
strength, and detachment. Soon unresponsive,
confused and agitated… paranoia and depression
• Psilocybin
• Methylenedioxymethamphetamine- MDMA or
ecstasy
 Depressants
• Depressant- a substance used to depress the functions of the central nervous
system. Depressants calm irritability and anxiety and may induce sleep.
• Alcohol: $40 billion annually US- most widely used and abused drug
• Barbiturates: downers- relax and create a feeling of well being- 25 in use in
medicine- 5: amobarbital, secobarbital, phenobarbital, pentobarbital and
butabarbital used for most: “barbs, yellow jackets, blue devils and reds”
10-70mg dose. Methaqualone (Quaalude) powerful sedative.
• Tranquilizers: relax “without impairment”- Reserpine and chlorpromazine
reduce anxiety of mental patients- mild tranquilizers- diazepam (Valium),
chlordiazepozide (Librium) and meprobamate (Miltown) produce psychological
and physical dependancy
• Glue sniffing and gas propellants: exhilaration and euphoria- liver, heart and
brain damage
 Stimulants
• Stimulant- A substance taken to increase alertness or activity.
• Amphetamines: synthetic drug: uppers or speed: 5-20 mg.
Amphetamine or Methamphetamine. Restlessness, instability
and depression. Inject or smoke- Ice
• Cocaine- Sigmund Freud experiments with drug- the need for
food and sleep was completely banished. Once used for local
pain killer. Powerful stimulant. Most commonly sniffed
through mucus membranes of the nose. Crack smoked.
Crack users rarely kick the habit. Abuse on the rise. Not
harmless. - mental depression, cardiac arrest
 Club Drugs
• Club drugs- Synthetic drugs that are used at
nightclubs, bars, and raves. Club drugs include, but
or not limited to, MDMA (ecstasy), GHB (gamma
hydroxybutyrate), Rohypnol (roofies), Ketamine,
and Methamphetamine. MDMA
• GHB-gamma hydoxybutyrate,
• Rohyphnol (roofies)- muscle relaxation and loss of
consciousness- rape drug
• Ketamine
• Methamphetame
 Anabolic Steroids

Anabolic steroids- Steroids that promote muscle

growth. Chemically related to male sex hormone,
testosterone.

Widespread attention for enhancing athletic

performance. In 1991, the US government
classified them as controlled dangerous substances
 Drug Control Laws
Controlled Substances Act

Legal Drug Classification System to prevent and control drug abuse

5 schedules of classification for controlled dangerous substances on

the basis of a drug’s potential for abuse, potential fo physical and
psychological dependence and medical value
Flexible: as the US attorney general has the authority to add, delete,
or reschedule a drug as more information becomes available
Schedules I and II are subject to manufacturing quota

Criminal penalties for unauthorized manufacture, sale or

possession are related to the schedules. Most severe are for I and
II punishable by up to 20 years and 1 million for individual or up to
5 million for other than individuals
Controlled Substances Act Schedule
 Drug Identification
• Selection of an Analytical Scheme.
• Factors including amount of substance to be analyzed, time available, and disposition of the
analyzed material.
• The general principles that are followed when developing an Analytical Scheme are as
follows.
1. Visual examinations remain the first method employed.
2. Examinations must move from general to specific.
3. The schemes and processes must adhere to generally accepted processes and tests accepted in
the field.
4. Whenever possible perform at least one specific test.
5. Pay attention to the possibility that the sample may be needed as an exhibit in court.
6.If there is not enough material for a complete battery of tests those that do not destroy the
sample should be performed first.
7. Use the tests that have the most telling results.
 Drug Identification
• Screening test- A test that is nonspecific and
preliminary in nature to reduce the possibilities to
a manageable number- series of color tests.
• Once the number of possibilities has been
substantially reduced, the second phase of analysis
must be devoted to pinpointing and confirming the
drug’s identity
• Confirmation- A single test that specifically
identifies a substance.
 Drug Identification tests
• Color tests
• Microcrystalline tests
• Chromatography- TLC
• Spectrophotometry- UV Spec, IR Spec
• Mass spectrometry- coupled to GC: GC-MS
 Screening Tests

•Provides information about class of drugs involved

 Color tests
• Marquis (2 % formaldehyde in sulfuric acid): Purple- heroin, morphine
and opium derivatives. Orange brown for amphetamines and
methamphetamines
• Dillie-Koppanyi (1% cobalt acetate in methanol followed by 5%
isopropylamine in methanol)- Violet-blue for barbituates
• Duquenois-Levine (A= 2% vanillin and 1% acetaldehyde in EtOH- B=
concentrated HCL and C= chloroform) Purple in C layer for marijuana
• Van Urk (1% p-dimethyaminobenzaldehyde in 10% concentrate HCl
and EtOH). Blue purple- LSD
• Scott Test (A=2% cobalt thiocyanate dissolved in H20, B= HCl and
C=Chloroform) Cocaine – A blue, B pink and C blue reappears
 Microcrystalline Tests
• Microcrystalline tests- Tests to identify
specific substances by the color and
morphology of the crystals formed when
the substance is mixed with specific
reagents.
 Chemical Microscopy
• Reagents are aqueous solutions
of metallic salts
• Drug materials form complexes
with reagent
• Complexes are crystals
• Observed microscopically
• Closely related materials give
very different crystals, easily
distinguished Heroin with Mercuric Iodide
 Confirmatory Tests

• Chromatography- TLC and GC

• FTIR- Fourier Transform Infrared Spec
• Chemical Microscopy
 Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC -1)
• Moving liquid phase, solid
stationary phase
• TLC Procedure
– Sample is dissolved in a solvent
– Spotted onto the lower edge of the plate
– The plate is placed into a closed chamber
with liquid
– The liquid slowly rises up by capillary
action. Separation occurs as the
components with the greatest affinity for
the moving phase migrate faster
– Visualized UV fluorescence or developed
with a chemical reagent spray  color
spots
 TLC -2
Q K
• Questioned sample (Q) must be developed alongside a standard or known
(K) sample. If Q and K travel the same distance up the plate from the
origins then they can be tentatively identified as the same
• ID cannot be considered definitive as other materials may have similar
migration
• Distance traveled up can be assigned an Rf value = distance traveled by the
component divided by the distance traveled by the liquid phase. For
example if the moving phase travels 10cm and spot 8cm then Rf =
8cm/10cm = 0.8
• Rapid and sensitive down to 100ug
• Principal application is detection and identification of components in a
complex mixture
– Separate drugs from diluents
– Need to know something about identity from other tests
– Complements color and crystal tests
 Spectrophotometer

• Instrument used to measure and record the absorption spectrum of a

chemical substance
• Components- 1. Radiation source
– 1- Radiation source (UV, vis, IR)
– 2. Monochromator or frequency selector
– 3. Sample holder
– 4. Detection to convert electromagnetic radiation into an electric
signal (digitizer)
– 5. Recorder
• UV spec - useful to establish probable identity of drugs
• FTIR- spedivically identify a substance
 UV and Visible
Spectrophotometry
• Measures the absorbance
of UV and visible light as a
function of wavelength or
frequency
• UV spec of heroin has max
absorption at 278nm
providing materials
probable identity
• Will not provide definitive
result - other material may
have a similar UV
absorption
 IR Spectrum
• IR specs provide far more
complex patterns
• Different materials always have
distinctively different IR spectra
• Each IR spectra is equivalent to
a “fingerprint” of that substance
and no other
• Fourier transform infrared
spectrophotometer FT-IR
• Considered specific in itself for
identification
GC- Mass Spectrometry
 Collection and Preservation of
Drug Evidence
• Simple task with minimal precautions
• Properly packaged and labeled
• Prevent loss and cross contaminations
• Volatiles in airtight container
• Marked with information to ensure identification
for future legal proceedings and to establish the
chain of custody
• Helps to have background information and any
test results completed in the field
 Summary 1
Drug is a natural or synthetic substance that is used to
produce physiological or psychological effects in
humans or other higher order animals
Narcotic- Analgesic or pain-killing substance that
depresses vital body functions such as blood pressure,
pulse rate, and breathing rate. The regular administration
of narcotics will produce physical dependence. Examples
are the opium derivatives and opiates
Hallucinogen- A substance that induces changes in mood,
attitude, thought, or perception. Examples are marijuana,
LSD, PCP and MDMA
 Summary 2
• Depressant- a substance used to depress the functions of the
central nervous system. Depressants calm irritability and
anxiety and may induce sleep. Examples are alcohol,
barbituates, tranquilizers and glue sniffing
• Stimulant- A substance taken to increase alertness or activity.
Examples are amphetamines and cocaine
• Club drugs- Synthetic drugs that are used at nightclubs, bars,
and raves. Club drugs include, but or not limited to, MDMA
(ecstasy), GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate), Rohypnol
(roofies), Ketamine, and Methamphetamine. MDMA
• Anabolic steroids- Steroids that promote muscle growth.
Chemically related to male sex hormone, testosterone.
 Summary 3
• Controlled substances schedules are a legal drug
classification system to prevent and control drug abuse
• There are 5 schedules with I and II being the most
dangerous with accordingly the highest penalties for
manufacture, sale or possession
• Drug chemists conduct screening tests to narrow down the
possibilities and then confirmatory tests to identify the
drug. Typically FTIR or GCMS is used
• Collection of drug evidence should be done to prevent
loss, and contamination. All evidence should be marked
and chain of custody established.