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Classification, including
Commercial Drugs
L A King, Forensic Science Service, London, UK
Copyright # 2000 Academic Press
doi:10.1006/rwfs.2000.0484
Introduction
The term `drug abuse' invites questions about what is
a drug and what is the meaning of `abuse'. In a
general sense, a drug is any substance without nutri-
tional value which is capable of exerting a physio-
logical or behavioral response in the subject. For the
forensic drug examiner, as opposed to the toxico-
logist, this is much too broad. Following Paracelsus,
we recognize all drugs as poisons, but the deliberate
or accidental administration, including overdoses, of
pharmaceutical medicines or the true poisons (e.g.
carbon monoxide, cyanide, paraquat and arsenic) is
not normally thought of as drug abuse. On the other
hand, we should not conclude that the term is
restricted to substances with medically useful proper-
ties. Most opinion asserts that cannabis, heroin and
abused. Alcohol and nicotine can lead to serious
health and social problems, but there is much resis-
tance in the wider community to even think of these
substances as drugs.
For all practical forensic purposes, and for this
discussion, drug abuse is largely concerned with
those substances whose possession or supply is pro-
hibited in law. We refer to them as the `scheduled' or
`controlled' drugs. A few nonscheduled drugs are also
of interest, but even here it is convenient to think of
them as drugs which are potentially liable to be
scheduled in the future. Expressions such as `illegal
drug' and `illicit drug' are not always helpful. The
former could include drugs which are perfectly legal
when used in an appropriate context (e.g. morphine,
benzodiazepines and other scheduled medicines),
whereas `illicit' refers to substances manufactured
without licence and is not synonymous with `sched-
uled'. The use of labels such as `hard' and `soft' should
also be avoided as they give the impression that some
scheduled drugs are more acceptable than others.
Although the expressions `abuse' and `misuse' are
used interchangeably, the policy of the World Health
Organization is to prefer the former if scheduled drugs
are involved.
The legal classification of drugs is partly deter-
mined by their pharmacological properties. It is also
convenient to group drugs according to their geogra-
phical origin, whether they are naturally occurring,
semisynthetic or completely synthetic, their mode of
administration, scale of abuse and physical form (e.g.
powder, tablets, liquids).
In this article, drugs of abuse are described under
three major headings:
. Form and origin
Natural plant material
Derived plant material
Semisynthetic drugs
Synthetic drugs
. Pharmacological classification
Narcotic analgesics
CNS stimulants
Hallucinogens
Hypnotics/tranquilizers
Miscellaneous
. Legislative controls
Scheduled drugs: international classification
The UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs,
1961
The UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances,
1971
National legislation
Nonscheduled drugs
 DRUGS OF ABUSE/Classification, including Commercial Drugs
Form and Origin
Drugs of abuse fall into four groups: natural plant
material, derived plant material, semisynthetic drugs
and true synthetic drugs.
Natural plant material
Herbal cannabis or marijuana typically consists of the
dried flowering tops of female Cannabis indica and
related species, but it may also include the dried leaves.
This plant has a widespread distribution, but grows
best in subtropical conditions. Plants grown outdoors
in Northern Europe rarely produce a good yield of
flowers. The active principle in cannabis is tetrahy-
drocannabinol (THC), much of which is found in the
resin surrounding the bracts. Cannabis is normally
mixed with tobacco and smoked, but can be ingested.
The average `reefer' cigarette contains around 200 mg
of herbal cannabis. The mean THC content of good
quality cannabis is around 5%. Improved seed vari-
eties, which have been selected to produce higher THC
yields, are associated with intensive indoor cultiva-
tion. Procedures such as artificial heating and lighting,
control of `day' length, hydroponic cultivation in nu-
trient solutions and propagation of cuttings of female
plants not only lead to a high production of flowering
material, but the THC content may be in excess of
20% in ideal cases. At the other end of the scale,
cannabis is also cultivated under license in a number
of European countries for the production of fiber. The
THC content of this cannabis is less than 0.3%.
The leaves of the coca plant (Erythroxylum coca),
which grows on the Andean ridge in South America,
have long been chewed by local people as a stimulant
Coca leaves are also made into a commercially avail-
able coca tea, but this product is rarely seen outside
South America. The active principle is cocaine.
Mescal buttons from the peyote cactus (Lopho-
phora williamsii) originate from Central America
and have had a long use in religious ceremonies.
The active constituent is mescaline, an hallucinogenic
phenethylamine. The peyote cactus is a slow-growing
plant, which is rarely cultivated on a commercial
scale. Mescaline has largely been superseded by syn-
thetic phenethylamines (see below).
`Magic' mushrooms (Psilocybe semilanceata and
related species) are another ubiquitous group. They
contain the hallucinogenic tryptamines, psilocin, and
its phosphate ester, psilocybin. The related hallucino-
gen, dimethyltryptamine, is a constituent of various
tropical plants.
Khat or qat (Catha edulis) is a plant indigenous to
Northeast Africa. The fresh leaves are chewed to
extract both cathinone and cathine. These substances
are stimulants closely related to ephedrine. Abuse of
627
khat in Western countries is mostly confined to
Ethiopian and Somalian communities.
Derived plant material
Cannabis resin (produced by collecting and compres-
sing the resinous matter surrounding female cannabis
flowers) has a typical THC content of 5%. Hash oil (a
solvent extract of herbal cannabis or cannabis resin)
may contain 30±40% THC.
Cocaine comprises around 1% of coca leaves. It is
chemically extracted and manufactured into cocaine
hydrochloride. This is a white powder which is com-
monly snorted. Some cocaine is reconverted to the
free base. Known as `crack', it is extremely addictive.
Unlike the hydrochloride salt, it can be smoked.
Opium is also smoked, but abuse is uncommon in
Western countries. It is the dried latex which exudes
from the capsules of the opium poppy (Papaver
somniferum), and contains around 10% morphine
as the main active ingredient. Poppy straw concen-
trates, made by solvent extracting the dried capsules,
are sometimes injected ± a practice seen in Eastern
Europe.
Semisynthetic drugs
Heroin is the most common example of a semisyn-
thetic drug. It is produced by the acetylation of crude
morphine obtained from opium. Until the late 1970s,
nearly all of the heroin consumed in Europe came from
Southeast Asia. Sometimes known as `Chinese her-
oin', it was a white powder consisting of diamorphine
hydrochloride and minor amounts of other opium
alkaloids, but adulterants were unusual. However,
over the past 20 years, most of the heroin seized in
Europe has originated in Southwest Asia, an area
centred on Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey. This
material is a much cruder product, typically a brown
powder containing around 45% diamorphine and
variable amounts of other opium alkaloids (e.g. mono-
acetylmorphine, noscapine, papaverine and acetyl-
codeine). Adulterants are normally present, the most
frequently reported being caffeine and paracetamol. It
is generally accepted that most of these cutting agents
are added to heroin at the time of manufacture. The
illicit heroin used in North America traditionally
originated from Southeast Asia, but in recent years
Columbia has emerged as a major heroin supplier.
Synthetic drugs
Amphetamine was first synthesized over 100 years
ago, but its stimulant properties were not recognized
until much later. It is now rarely prescribed as a
medicine, where one of its few uses is in the treatment
of narcolepsy. In Europe, amphetamine is the second
628 DRUGS OF ABUSE/Classification, including Commercial Drugs
most commonly abused drug after cannabis. Most
amphetamine syntheses continue to start with phenyl-
2-propanone (benzyl methyl ketone). Despite inter-
national trade controls deriving from the United
Nations (UN) 1988 Convention, illicit supplies of
this and other precursors appear to be readily avail-
able on the black market. In North America and the
Far East, methamphetamine is more common. This
has traditionally been made from ephedrine, but trade
controls have caused a shift to pseudoephedrine.
More recently, phenylpropanolamine has been used
in the USA to produce amphetamine. Both ampheta-
mine and methamphetamine are found as white or
off-white powders. Typical cutting agents are caffeine
and sugars such as glucose. In Europe, amphetamine
is occasionally seen in tableted form.
The ring-substituted amphetamines are commonly
known as the `Ecstasy' drugs. The prototypical
member of this family is 3,4-methylenedioxymeth-
amphetamine (MDMA). First synthesized in the
early part of the twentieth century, abuse did not
become widespread until the 1980s. Both amphe-
tamine and MDMA are derived from the phenethy-
lamine molecule. In the past 10 years, dozens of
designer drugs based on variously substituted phe-
nethylamine have appeared in Europe and the USA.
These drugs are invariably produced in the form of
white well-made tablets, often bearing a characteristic
design (logo) and usually around 10 mm in diameter.
The MDMA content of tablets is typically 80±90 mg.
Lactose is a common excipient (filler) in tablets.
Lysergide (LSD) is generally thought of as a purely
synthetic material, but routes of manufacture usually
start from ergotamine, a natural substance produced
by the microorganism Claviceps purpurea. Until the
mid-1970s, LSD was produced in small (approxi-
mately 2 6 2 mm) tablets known as microdots. For
the past 20 years, paper squares of around 7 6 7 mm
have been the common dosage form. These squares
are usually printed with a coloured design featuring
cartoon characters, symbols or drug-related motifs;
the lysergide content averages 50 mg.
Apart from lysergide and dimethyltryptamine
(DMT), few synthetic drugs based on the tryptamine
molecule have become popular, even though the
synthesis and properties of many have been described
in recent popular literature. A factor that is likely to
limit the wider abuse of hallucinogenic tryptamines is
their inactivity when taken orally. Most need to be
smoked, injected or mixed with an `activator' to
inhibit metabolic destruction.
Methaqualone, a drug formerly used as a hypnotic,
but now produced illicitly, has remained a popular
drug of abuse in South Africa. It is often smoked
mixed with cannabis.
Pharmacological Classification
The legal classification of an abused drug is deter-
mined by its propensity to harm the health of the
individual or produce a risk to society. In large
measure, these factors are governed by the pharma-
cological properties of the substance, particularly its
toxicity and ability to produce dependence (a term
used in preference to addiction). Most abused drugs
fall into a few well-defined pharmacological cate-
gories, namely narcotic analgesics, central nervous
system (CNS) stimulants, hallucinogens and hypno-
tics/tranquilizers. A small number fall into a miscel-
laneous or mixed function group.
Narcotic analgesics
These are drugs which interact with those receptors in
the brain responsible for the transmission of and
response to pain. They may be differentiated from
the peripheral analgesics (e.g. aspirin), which have no
abuse potential. The classical narcotic analgesics are
the opium alkaloids (principally morphine) and its
semisynthetic derivatives (e.g. diamorphine ± the
main active principle in heroin, codeine, buprenor-
phine). In the first half of the twentieth century, a
large group of entirely synthetic narcotic analgesics
was developed, including methadone, pethidine
(meperidine) and fentanyl. Abuse of narcotic analge-
sics is responsible, by far, for most drug-related
mortality and morbidity.
CNS stimulants
Although the narcotic analgesics may cause the great-
est damage to society and the individual, the CNS
stimulants are probably the most widely abused.
These drugs have a close structural relationship to
neurotransmitters such as dopamine and noradrena-
line. They are believed to act on receptors in the brain
and other tissues, causing an increase in the levels of
these neurotransmitters. This results in a rise in blood
pressure, increased mental alertness and wakefulness,
reduction of physical fatigue and appetite. Prolonged
use can lead to psychosis. In developed countries,
amphetamine, methamphetamine and cocaine are
the commonly encountered examples. In some coun-
tries, there is abuse of medicinal drugs nominally
intended for the treatment of narcolepsy, weight
reduction or hyperactivity attention disorder (e.g.
diethylpropion, pemoline, methylphenidate).
Hallucinogens
Naturally-occurring hallucinogens have been used in
Central and South America since historical times.
The most common of these are mescaline, dimethyl-
tryptamine and other ring-substituted tryptamines
 DRUGS OF ABUSE/Classification, including Commercial Drugs
such as psilocin. These drugs produce visual and
other sensory hallucinations. Synthetic hallucinogens
are typified by lysergide. It is one of the most potent
drugs to act on the CNS. Although first produced
over 50 years ago, serious abuse was uncommon
before the 1960s. This era also saw the appearance
of other clandestine hallucinogens such as DOB
(brolamfetamine, 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxy-a-methyl-
phenethylamine). More recently, other hallucino-
genic phenethylamines have received wide publicity.
These drugs, sometimes known as psychedelics, are
thought to act by interfering with serotonin receptors
in the brain. As with the stimulant drugs, there is a
close relationship between the chemical structure of
hallucinogenic drugs and serotonin (5-hydroxy-N,N-
dimethyltryptamine).
Hypnotics/tranquilizers
The barbiturates were once the most commonly used
hypnotic drugs, but are now rarely prescribed or
abused. Their CNS depressant properties led to
many deliberate and accidental overdoses. They
have been replaced by the benzodiazepines ± a group
which spans a range of both hypnotic (sleep-inducing)
and tranquilizing properties. Benzodiazepine tran-
quilizers are typified by diazepam and lorazepam.
Although these drugs may often be found in impaired
vehicle drivers, abuse is largely restricted to the hyp-
notic members (e.g. flunitrazepam and temazepam).
However, the distinction between the two types is
largely based on their potency and duration of action.
Miscellaneous
The so-called `Ecstasy' drugs are sometimes described
as hallucinogenic, but their effects are unlike those of
LSD. Although MDMA and its congeners may show
some stimulant properties, they have been described
as falling into the novel pharmacological categories of
`entactogens' and `empathogens'. The pharmacologi-
cal effects of cannabis are fairly diverse, as may be
expected from a complex plant product. Effects
include euphoria, sedation, analgesia and hallucina-
tions. Most abused solvents fall into the category of
simple anesthetics, although substance-specific effects
have been reported. Anabolic steroids are abused for
their ability to increase lean body weight, strength
and overall physical fitness.
Legislative Controls: Scheduled Drugs:
International Classification
UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961
Plant-based drugs, such as opium, cannabis and
cocaine, have been used for thousands of years, but
629
the concept of drug abuse is much more recent. As a
consequence of social change, the problem has inevi-
tably arisen from a situation where the drug in ques-
tion was initially accepted, at least in certain
populations, if not actively promoted by commercial
interests. This was the position with opium towards
the end of the nineteenth century. Following the meet-
ing of the Shanghai Opium Commission in 1909,
trade was curtailed and eventually replaced by legis-
lative sanctions against supply and use. Cocaine was
once a permitted additive in Coca-Cola, whereas
heroin (diacetylmorphine) was marketed as a treat-
ment for opium addiction.
The major plant-based drugs have now been var-
iously controlled for many years, but the modern era
of international legislation starts with the UN Single
Convention on Narcotic Drugs in 1961. Member
States which are signatories to the Convention will
have established the principles in domestic legisla-
tion. The Convention maintains a strong emphasis on
these same plant-based drugs, setting out rules for
their cultivation, manufacture and trade. However,
the scope of control was widened to include over 100
mostly synthetic substances, the great majority of
which can be described as narcotic analgesics; few
of these are now used clinically or ever abused. The
drugs are set out in four Schedules. Most are found in
Schedule I, the category with the greatest restrictions.
The more commonly encountered drugs in forensic
casework, which are included in the 1961 Conven-
tion, are set out in Table 1.
UN Convention of Psychotropic Substances, 1971
During the 1960s, the abuse of stimulants, hallucino-
gens and related drugs became a problem in many
Western societies. These drugs were often abused in
the form of pharmaceutical preparations. Just as with
the plant-based drugs in a previous era, the supply of
stimulants was promoted by commercial concerns as
aids to weight control and relief from fatigue. Even
hallucinogens, such as LSD, were legitimized by their
use in psychiatry. The 1971 UN Convention on
Psychotropic Substances was intended to deal with
this phenomenon. Again, the drugs for control were
set out in four Schedules. Whereas a forensic drugs
examiner is unlikely to encounter the great majority
of substances in the 1961 Convention, the psycho-
tropic drugs in the 1971 Convention will be more
familiar. There are over 100 substances listed; Table 2
shows the more commonly encountered drugs in the
four Schedules. Unlike the 1961 Convention, there is
no overarching control of isomers. This leads to a
situation in which a generic term such as ampheta-
mine (meaning both the `7' and the `+' enantiomers)
630 DRUGS OF ABUSE/Classification, including Commercial Drugs

Table 1 The more commonly encountered drugs of abuse listed Table 2 The more commonly encountered drugs of abuse listed
in the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs in the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances

Schedule I Schedule I
Cannabis and cannabis resin and extracts and tinctures of Brolamphetamine (DOB)
cannabis Cathinone
Coca leaf Dimethyltryptamine (DMT)
Cocaine N-Ethyltenamphetamine (MDE)
Concentrate of poppy straw N-Hydroxytenamphetamine (N-OH MDA)
Dextromoramide Lysergide (LSD)
Dipipanone MDMA
Heroin (diacetylmorphine) Mescaline
Methadone Psilocin
Morphine Psilocybin
Opium Tenamphetamine (MDA)
Pethidine
Schedule II
The isomers, esters and ethers (unless appearing in another Amphetamine
Schedule) and the salts of the drugs listed in this Schedule Dexamphetamine
Dronabinol
Schedule II
(+)-Methamphetamine
Codeine
Methamphetamine racemate
Dihydrocodeine
Methaqualone
The isomers and the salts of the drugs listed in this Schedule Methylphenidate
Phencyclidine
Schedule III
Secobarbitone
This is concerned with what may be termed `low-dose'
preparations of drugs already listed in Schedules I or II. For Schedule III
example, it includes: codeine or dihydrocodeine when Amobarbital
compounded with one or more other ingredients and Buprenorphine
containing not more than 100 mg of the drug per dosage unit Cathine
and with a concentration of not more than 2.5% in undivided Pentobarbital
preparations; cocaine preparations containing less than 0.1%
Schedule IV
cocaine; and morphine preparations containing less than 0.2%
Diazepam and many other benzodiazepines
morphine
Diethylpropion
Schedule IV Pemoline
This is a list of those Schedule I substances which, unlike most of Phenobarbitone
the entries in Schedule I, are considered to be of limited
The salts of the substances listed in all four Schedules
medicinal value and should be restricted to research use. It
includes, among others, cannabis and cannabis resin and
heroin
Further anabolic nonsteroidal compounds are also
controlled, i.e. human chorionic gonadotrophin
sits alongside dexamphetamine (i.e. the `+' enantio- (hCG), clenbuterol, nonhuman chorionic gonadotro-
mer of amphetamine). phin, somatotropin, somatrem and somatropin.
Starting in the late 1970s, the UK introduced a
number of generic definitions into the Misuse of
National legislation
Drugs Act of 1971. Thus, apart from derivatives of
Nearly all States limit their domestic controls to those certain steroids as noted above, suitably substituted
substances listed in the 1961 and 1971 UN Conven- derivatives of tryptamine, phenethylamine, fentanyl,
tions. A few countries have chosen to control a wider pethidine and barbituric acid also became controlled.
range of drugs. For example, certain anabolic steroids A broadly similar approach is used in New Zealand.
are controlled in the UK and the USA, although the In the USA, the problem of so-called `designer drugs'
substances named are not identical in the two coun- has been effectively dealt with by the Controlled
tries. In the UK, 48 anabolic steroids are listed speci- Substances Analogue Enforcement Act of 1986.
fically as Class C drugs (the lowest category), and In the UK legislation, apart from a few exceptions,
generic legislation covers certain derivatives of 17- no distinction is made between the isomers of listed
hydroxyandrostan-3-one or 17-hydroxyestran-3-one drugs. Thus the Misuse of Drugs Act lists ampheta-
as well as the esters or ethers of the named steroids. In mine, but not dexamphetamine, which is considered
the UK, the more commonly encountered controlled redundant. By contrast, in the USA, offenses invol-
steroids are methandienone, nandrolone, oxymetho- ving different isomers of, for example, methamphet-
lone, stanozolol, and testosterone and its esters. amine may attract different penalties.

Some countries have scheduled specific substances
either for legislative convenience or because the drugs
are deemed to be a local problem. An example of the
former is the inclusion of ephedrine as a controlled
drug in the Republic of Ireland. (This arose from a
desire to consolidate into their Misuse of Drugs Act of
1977 the provisions of the UN 1988 Convention
Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psycho-
tropic Substances.) An example of the latter is the
control of the khat plant in the USA and a number of
European countries.
Nonscheduled Drugs
Apart from drugs under international or domestic
control, there is a further small group of substances
that are recognized as causing personal and social
problems, particularly in Europe and North America.
These are possible candidates for control, but as
discussed earlier should be distinguished from
`socially acceptable' substances such as alcohol, nico-
tine and caffeine.
Ketamine and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) are
both under investigation in the UK and USA as
candidates for control. Ketamine is used in veterinary
and some human surgery as an anesthetic. Only injec-
tion solutions are licensed, whereas abusers ingest
powders and tablets, sometimes mixed with a stimu-
lant such as ephedrine to mimic the effects of MDMA.
GHB is licensed for use in some countries as a hypno-
tic, but it is also abused. Not only is GHB readily
made from its precursor (gamma-butyrolactone), but
that precursor is widely used as an industrial solvent
which is metabolically converted to GHB.
Abuse of solvents by inhalation is arguably a more
serious problem, which leads to many fatalities. How-
ever, hydrocarbons, such as butane and toluene, are
so readily available that effective control would prove
difficult to achieve. The alkyl nitrites, which cause
peripheral vasodilation, represent a particular type of
solvent abuse, but again their control would present
practical problems.
Finally, there are numerous herbal drugs which are
abused for their stimulant or hallucinogenic proper-
ties. Not only is this somewhat of a fringe activity, but
most legislatures are reluctant to control a wider
range of plant material.
See also: Drugs of Abuse: Designer Drugs. Pharma-
cology.
Further Reading
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (1998) Drug
Misuse and the Environment. London: Stationery Office.
DRUGS OF ABUSE/Designer Drugs 631
British Medical Association (1997) The Misuse of Drugs.
Amsterdam: Harwood.
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addic-
tion (1998) Annual Report on the State of the Drugs
Problem in the European Union. Luxembourg: Office
for Official Publications of the European Communities.
Fortson R (1996) The Law on the Misuse of Drugs and
Drug Trafficking Offences, 3rd edn. London: Sweet and
Maxwell.
Hardman J (eds) (1996) Goodman and Gilman's Pharma-
cological Basis of Therapeutics. New York: McGraw-
Hill.
Henry J (1994) The British Medical Association New
Guide to Medicines and Drugs. London: Dorling
Kindersley.
Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence (1999) Drug
Abuse Briefing: A Guide to the Non-Medical Use of
Drugs in Britain, 7th edn. London: ISDD.
Julien RM (1995) A Primer of Drug Action, 7th edn. New
York: Freeman.
Karch SB (eds) (1998) Drug Abuse Handbook. London:
CRC Press.
Ramsay M and Spiller J (1997) Drug Misuse Declared in
1996: Latest Results of the British Crime Survey.
London: Home Office.
Redda KK, Walker CA and Barnett G (ed.) (1989)
Cocaine, Marijuana, Designer Drugs, Chemistry, Phar-
macology and Behavior. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Stockley D (1992) Drug Warning. London: Optima.
United Nations (1993) Multilingual Dictionary of Narcotic
Drugs and Psychotropic Substances under International
Control. New York: United Nations.
United Nations International Drug Control Programme
(1997) World Drug Report. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Webber D (ed.) (1998) Controlled Drugs: A Handbook for
the Legal Profession. London: Institute for the Study of
Drug Dependence.
Designer Drugs
J Hartelius, Stockholm, Sweden
Copyright # 2000 Academic Press
doi:10.1006/rwfs.2000.0495
Emergence of the Concept
The concept of `designer drugs' gained attention in
the 1980s as a new expression for describing a
number of recent arrivals among the psychoactive