CRJ 311: Forensic Science

Lecture 5 - Drugs and Forensic Toxicology

1. What is a Drug?
a. Drug:

b. Drug Facts:
i. Marijuana:
ii. Drugs and alcohol:
iii. Abuse:
iv. How many Americans use drugs?
v. How much evidence is drug related?

2. Types of Drugs
a. Narcotics:

i. Examples:
b. Hallucinogens:

i. Examples:

3. Types of Drugs
a. Depressants:

i. Examples:
b. Stimulants:

i. Examples:

4. Types of Drugs
a. Club Drugs:

i. Examples:
b. Anabolic Steroids:

c. What do we know about drugs in our region?

5. DEA Factsheet: Nevada

a. Meth:
b. Cocaine:
c. Mexican black tar heroin:
d. Club drugs:
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 e. Marijuana:
f. Pharmaceuticals:
g. Illegal scripts by health care professionals and workers for sale.
h. Hydrocodone, Methadone, Xanax and Valium are also most commonly abused in Nevada.
i. Prescription fraud is a major concern in Reno and Las Vegas and the focus of special task
force investigations.

6. Controlled Substances Act

a. The Controlled Substances Act:

b. Schedule I: high potential for abuse

i. Examples:
c. Schedule II: high potential for abuse
i. Examples:
d. Schedule III: lower potential for abuse
i. Examples:
e. Schedule IV: low potential for abuse
i. Examples:
f. Schedule V: low potential for abuse
i. Examples:

7. Drugs and Crime

a. Who are the majority of people in prison?
b. What do spikes account for in graph?
c. Why is property the highest committed offense in jail?

8. Identification of Drugs
a. Physicians’ Desk Reference (PDR):

b. Field Tests:

c. Laboratory Tests:

9. Collection of Drug Evidence

a. CSI is responsible for ensuring that evidence is properly packaged and labeled for the
laboratory.
b. How do you prevent loss or contents and cross-contamination?
c. What type of container are the drugs packaged in?
d. Does the evidence need to be documented and a chain of custody label attached?

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 10. Presumptive Testing
a. Presumptive tests for illicit drugs are based on what?
b. What types are there?
c. Are positive results conclusive?
d. Do we need to do specific lab tests to conclude what drug it is?

11. Confirmatory Testing

a. Confirmatory testing identifies one substance by using the following analytical techniques:

12. What is Toxicology?

a. Toxicology:

i. Toxic substances may be the following:

b. Types:
i. Environmental:
ii. Consumer:

13. Facts about Criminal Poisoning

a. Poisoning dates back 2500 BC when the Sumerians worshipped the Goddess of Poison.
b. Who is poisoning the weapon of choice for?
c. How does the developments in forensic science helping?

14. Criminal Poisoning

a. Jane Toppan’s ambition was to “kill more men and women than anyone in history”
b. How many murders did she confess to?
c. Where was Toppan employed?

15. What is Forensic Toxicology?

a. Forensic Toxicology:
i. Examples:

16. Types of Forensic Toxicology

a. Forensic toxicology was developed in the 19th century by Mathieu Orfila (father of forensic
toxicology)
b. Types:
i. Postmortem:
ii. Criminal:
iii. Workplace:
iv. Sports:
v. Environment:

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 17. Forensic Autopsy
a. What to look for:

b. Order toxicological screens:

i. When should postmortem concentrations be done at?
ii. Can a realistic calculation of dose be made from a single measurement?

18. Chaz Higgs

a. Kathy Augustine was a rising star in the Nevada Republican party.
b. When did she die?
c. What drug did Kathy have a high dose in her system?
d. Who was charged with Kathy’s murder?
e. Was he convicted?

19. What is Alcohol?

a. Alcohol:
i. When does it begin circulating?
b. Rate of Absorption depends on:

20. Alcohol Facts

a. Traffic deaths:
b. CNS:
c. Acts as a depressant
d. Appears in blood when?
e. Detoxification:
f. Where is it excreted?

21. Blood Alcohol Content

a. Blood alcohol content (BAC):
b. What is the legal limit in ALL states?
c. What is the average rate of removal?

22. The Breathalyzer

a. Breathalyzer:

b. What do officers use today?

c. If arrested, what happens?

23. Field Tests

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 a. Preliminary tests:

b. Psychophysical tests:
i. Horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN):

ii. Nine step walk and turn (WAT):

iii. One-leg stand (OLS):