C.

Volatile Substance, Liquid, solid or mixed substances having the property of releasing toxic
vapors or fumes or any chemical substance which when sniffed, smelled, inhaled, or introduced into
the physiological system of the body produce/induce a condition of intoxication, inebriation,
excitement, stupefaction, etc.

Under Republic Act 9165, otherwise known as the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, it gives a
single definition for prohibited and regulated drugs. The old law defines the term "dangerous drugs as
pertaining to either "prohibited drug" or "regulated drug".

Under Republic Act 9165, otherwise known as the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, "Drug
Dependence" means a state of psychic or physical dependence, or both, on a dangerous drug.
arising in a person following administration or use of that drug on a periodic or continuous basis.

As based on the World Health Organization definition, Drug dependence refers to a cluster of
physiological, behavioral and cognitive phenomena of variable intensity, in which the use of
psychoactive drug takes on a high priority thereby involving, among others, a strong desire or a sense
of compulsion to take the substance and the difficulties in controlling substance-taking in terms of its
onset, termination, or levels of use.

What is Drug Dependency?

Drug addiction or dependence is a need for a particular controlled substance which comes from
continuous and sometimes periodic use of that drug.

Characteristics of Drug Dependency

1. Physical dependence

It is the result when a drug has been used for a long period of time. It is only identified when a
characteristics withdrawal or abstinence syndrome occurs after its use is discontinued. The body's
physical system changes until the body needs that particular drug in order to function.

2. Mental or psychological dependence

It is a need of drug in order to feel good, to get by or feel normal.

3. Idiosyncrasy or side effect.

Idiosyncrasy refers to a behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual's

mannerism.

What is Physical Dependence?

Physical dependence is a result when a drug has been used for a long period of time. It is only
identified when characteristics withdrawal or abstinence syndrome occurs after its use is
discontinued.
Babies born of drug dependent mothers are often born drug dependent and require special care,
some are mentally and physically impaired as harmed during fetus development.

If a substance abuser's drug of choice is unavailable, in order to maintain their high and to avoid
withdrawal symptoms, they usually use other controlled substance which is available. Sometimes
they are multi-user since they take several different drugs at one or at different times. Multi use
means multi-risk

What is Psychological Dependence?

Psychological dependence refers to a state in which an individual has a compulsion to take a drug,
but one in which there may not be a physical dependence.

What is Drug Addiction?

Drug addiction refers to a state of periodic or chronic intoxication produced by the repeated
consumption of a drug - natural or synthetic

Characteristics of Drug Addiction

The following are the characteristics of drug addiction:

1. An overpowering desire or need, compulsion to continue taking the drug and obtain it by any
means.
2. A tendency to increase dose or tolerance
3. A psychic or psychological and generally a physical dependence on drug.
4. A detrimental effect on the individual and on the society.

How is drug addiction acquired?

Drug addiction is acquired primarily in three ways:

1. Association is the tendency of a drug abuser to look for peer groups where he feels being wanted
and accepted.

2. Experimentation is the tendency of a person to try and explore the effects of drugs due to
curiosity or other reasons.

3. Inexperienced Physicians - is the tendency of the physicians to unnecessarily prescribe drugs.

What is Drug Habituation?

Drug Habituation refers to a condition resulting from the repeated consumption of drug.
Characteristics of Drug Habituation

The following are the characteristics of drug habituation:

1. A desire but not compulsive to continue taking the drug for the sense of improved wellbeing it
brings.
2. Little or no tendency to increase dose.
3. Some degree of psychic dependence on the effect of drug but absence of physical dependence.
4. Detrimental effect if any, primarily on the individual.

What is Drug Use?

The word "Use" refers to the act of injecting, intravenously or intramuscularly, or of consuming, either
by chewing, smoking, sniffing, eating, swallowing, drinking, or otherwise introducing into the
physiological system of the body, any of the dangerous drugs.

Other Definitions of Drug Abuse

The term "drug abuse" may refer to any of the following:

1. Use of medically useful drugs which have the capacity to alter mood and behavior without the
benefit of prescription.

2. Use of a medically useful mood-altering drug for a purpose different from the one for which that
drug has been prescribed.

3. Use of drugs and substances having no legitimate medical application for purposes other than
research.

What is Drug Abuse?

Drug abuse refers to non-medical use of drugs that cause physical, psychological, legal; economic,
or social damage to the user or to people affected by the user's behavior.

Abuse usually refers to illegal drugs but may also be applicable to drugs that are available legally,
such as prescribed medications and certain over-the counter medications.

What is Prescription Abuse?

Prescription abuse refers to the improper utilization of controlled substance prescribed by the
physicians to the patient under treatments with medical problem. Any drug not used according to
directions, whether prescribed by a physician or over the counter medication, can be substance
abuse. Using a prescription in a manner not prescribed, for using another's prescription is illegal.

HOW DRUGS WORK?

1. Minimal dose - amount needed to treat or heal, that is, the smallest amount of a drug that will
produce a therapeutic effect.
2. Maximal dose - largest amount of a drug that will produce a desired therapeutic effect without any
accompanying symptoms of toxicity.

3. Toxic dose - amount of drug that produces untoward effects or symptoms.

4. Abusive dose - amount needed to produce the side effects and action desired by the individual
who improperly uses it.

5. Lethal dose - the amount of drug that will cause death.

CHAPTER IV
Administration and Metabolism of Drugs Chapter

Objectives:

It is the objective of this chapter to explain how is drug administered into the body, as well as how are
drugs tested, what are those commonly tested drugs and what are the usual specimens for drug
testing.

What is Administer?

Under Republic Act No. 9165, otherwise known as Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002,
administer refers to any act of introducing any dangerous drug into the body of any person, with or
without his/her knowledge by injection, inhalation, ingestion or other means or of committing any act
of indispensable assistance to a person in administering a dangerous drug to himself/ herself unless
administered by a duly licensed practitioner for purposes of medication.

HOW DRUG IS BEING ADMINISTERED/TAKEN

Drug may be administered by any of the following means:

• Oral Ingestion
• Intravenous/Injection
• Inhalation (smoking, snorting, sniffing)
• Snorting
• Buccal
• Suppositories

Oral Ingestion
The drug is taken by the mouth and must pass through the stomach before being absorbed into the
bloodstream. This is one of the most common ways of taking a drug.
Inhalation
A drug in gaseous form enters the lungs and is quickly absorbed by the capillary system. It is
probably the second most commonly-used route of drug administration.

Injection

The drug can be administered into the body by the use of a syringe or hypodermic needle in the
following ways:

a. Subcutaneous - a drug is administered by injecting the drug just below the surface of the skin.
This is sometimes called "skin popping".

b. Intramuscular - administration involves the injection of a drug into a large muscle mass that has a
good blood supply, such as the gluteus maximus, quadriceps, or triceps.

c. Intravenous - this is the most efficient means of administration which involves depositing a drug
directly into the bloodstream. This is also the most rapid method of drug administration.

Snorting
Inhalation through the nose of drugs not in gaseous form. It is done by inhaling a powder of a liquid
drug into the nasal coats of the mucous membrane.

Buccal
Drug is administered by placing it in the buccal cavity just under the lips. The active ingredients dients
of the drug are absorbed in the bloodstream through the soft tissues lining the mouth.

Suppositories
Drug is administered through the vagina or rectum in suppository form and the drug is also absorbed
into the bloodstream.

DRUG DETECTION

Drug Detection depends on:

Absorption: (Structure and composition, diffusion and transport, Psycochemical factors in

penetration)

Disposition: (Distribution, pH partition principle, electro chemical and Donnan distribution, bio
transformation)

Elimination

WHAT DRUGS ARE TESTED?

■MOST COMMON:

• Marijuana
• Cocaine
 • Methamphetamine and its derivatives
• Benzodiazepines
• Ecstasy

■OTHER POPULAR TESTS:

• Barbiturates
• Oxycodon
• Amphetamine
• Opiates
• PCP (phencyclidine)

SAMPLE SPECIMENS

• Blood
• Fingernails
• Hair
• Saliva
• Sweat
• Tissue
• Urine (almost 99%)

CHAPTER V
Identification and Examination of Dangerous Drugs

"Drug testing is a form of forensic testing. Drug test results issued should be scientifically, legally and
forensically defensible."

Objectives:

This chapter is objectively designed to emphasize the methods of identifying dangerous drugs
through laboratory examinations. It also emphasizes the distinction between screening/preliminary
test and confirmatory test.

What is Drug Identification?

Drug Identification is a branch of Forensic Chemistry that deals with the scientific examination of
drugs and volatile substances.

Drug identification is usually conducted by a forensic chemist/chemical officer to determine the

presence of dangerous drug on submitted specimens. The forensic chemist/chemical officer also
conducts drug test on body fluids of suspected drug pushers and users to determine the presence of
dangerous drug metabolites.
Paraphernalia like smoking pipes, tooters and aluminum foils should also be submitted for
examination to determine the presence of dangerous drugs.

What are the Forms of Dangerous Drugs

Drugs are in various forms. These includes tablets, capsules, liquid, powder, brick or decks of
marijuana, crushed leaves and uprooted plants.

Examination of the sample taken from the suspected Dangerous Drugs

Methods of Examination

There are two (2) methods of laboratory examination of suspected dangerous drugs namely:

1. Qualitative examination

2. Quantitative examination

Steps common to qualitative and quantitative methods

The following are the steps common to qualitative and quantitative method of analysis:

1. Selection of method to be used

2. Physical test
3. Sampling
4. Sample preparation
5. Chemical test
6. Confirmatory examination
7. Calculation and interpretation of dates
8. Drawing of conclusion and writing report

Two phases in the examination of the suspected Dangerous Drugs

The two (2) phases in the examination of the suspected dangerous drugs are:

1. Screening test/Preliminary test (also known as the color test)

This test is non-specific and preliminary in nature. It is employed to reduce the family or group of
drugs to a small and manageable number.

Screening test includes a series of color tests producing characteristic colors for each family or group
of drugs. This is done by adding specific reagent to unknown sample in a spot plate.

Screening test is quite simple to perform even by investigators in the field. As a matter of fact, field
tests using these techniques are being taught in Narcotics Investigation Courses. Test reagents and
basic apparatus are commercially available.
Color Reactions:

Upon addition of specific reagents to a sample of dangerous drugs, a specific color reaction is
produced such as:

Cannabis: Duquenois-Levin = violet

Fast Blue B salt = purple red

Cocaine: Cobalt Thiocyanate test or CT test = blue

Scott test or Modified CT test: Reagent 1 = blue
Reagent 2 = pink
Reagent 3 = blue

Wagner test = brown (specific test for cocaine)

Diazepam: Zimmerman test = reddish purple or pink (some benzodiazepine derivatives do not give
color with this test)
Hydrochloric acid = yellow
Vitali-Morin test = yellow orange

Opium: Marquis = violet

Ferric Sulfate = Brownish purple
Mecke Blue to green
Nitric acid = Orange to red to yellow

Morphine: Marquis = Violet to reddish purple

Codeine: Mecke = Blue to green

Nitric acid = Orange to yellow

Heroin: Mecke = Blue to green

Nitric acid = Yellow to green

Dille-Koppanyi test = reddish purple (for barbiturates)

Methamphetamine Hydrochloride: Simon test Blue

Marquis test = Orange to brown

Ecstasy: Simon test Blue

Methaqualone and Phencyclidine: CT test =blue

Lysergide or LSD: Ehrlich = violet

Mescaline: Marquis test = Orange

Liebermann black
Note: It must be noted that Positive results of these tests are not conclusive, as there are substances
that may give same positive color reaction/s upon addition of the specific reagents. Hence,
confirmatory tests must be performed by the forensic chemist/ chemical officer on case to establish
the presence and identification of dangerous drug. It must also be noted that only those specimens
that yielded presumptive positive results are subject to confirmatory test in order to confirm if the
positive result of the screening test is really positive.

2. Confirmatory Test

Confirmatory test is the method employed to confirm the results of the screening/preliminary test.
This test involves the application of an analytical procedure to identify the presence of a specific drug
or metabolites. This is independent of the screening test and which uses techniques and chemical
principles different from that of the initial test in order to ensure reliability and accuracy.

There are several methods used in the confirmatory test. Some of these methods are:

(a) Chromatography is the process of separating mixture and comparing the migration of each
component with standard.

Some chromatographic techniques include:

Gas chromatography
Thin Layer chromatography
High-Pressure Liquid chromatography

What is a Gas Chromatography?

• It is a separation technique
• The mobile phase is a gas
• Separation is based on the difference in migration rates among sample components.

(b) Spectroscopy - a confirmatory method whereby light is used to identify the sample specimen.

Fourier - Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)

Used for the identification of pure organic substances. Identifies organic substances particularly
dangerous drugs and explosive ingredients based on their characteristic functional groups. In
layman's term, the resulting spectrum could be referred to as the fingerprints of the substance.

(c) Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy Used for screening of dangerous drugs in urine specimen.

Examination of the Urine Specimen

The rate of excretion from the body depends on the drug's solubility in fat. Water soluble drugs (such
as cocaine) are excreted quickly, while fat soluble drugs (such as marijuana) may take several weeks
or months before excretion.
Drug test must be conducted to apprehended individual/s who is/are suspected to be a user/s; and to
those who are charged with the offense of "Illegal Use of Dangerous Drugs".

Validity Test for Urine Specimen

Validity test is conducted to determine the integrity of the samples.

Reasons for Conducting Validity Tests

• In cases of unobserved urine collection

• When there is suspicion that the urine specimen has been tampered

Instances when to allow Unobserved Urine Specimen Collection

• When donor is physically unable to go to the laboratory

• When donor is involved in a crime scene
• When donor is involved in post-accident trauma
• When donor is critically ill

Different Types of Tampered Urine Specimen

The following are the different types of tampered urine specimen:

a. Adulterated - a specimen containing either a substance that is not a normal constituent for that
type of specimen or containing an endogenous substance at a concentration that is not a normal
physiological concentration

b. Diluted - refers to a specimen with less than normal physiological constituents

c. Substituted - a specimen which has been derived through switching or replacement of the original
sample.

Ways to Adulterate Urine Samples

The following are the different ways to adulterate urine samples:

(a) Addition of salt

(b) Addition of juice
(c) Addition of detergent
(d) Addition of bleach and other oxidizing
(e) Adulterants
(f) Addition of illicit drugs
Ways to Substitute a Urine Sample

The following are the ways to substitute a urine sample:

(a) Urine from friends or other persons not using drugs may be used as substitute specimen

(b) Replace sample with other substance similar to urine in appearance.

Ways to Dilute a Urine Specimen

The following are the ways to dilute a urine specimen:

a. Internal Dilution

(e.g. Intake of plenty of water before collection or drinking of herbal tea, etc.)

b. External Dilution

(e.g. Addition of water to previously collected urine)

Parameters for Validity Tests

The following are the parameters for validity tests:

(a) Initial Validity Tests:

• Physical characteristics such as color, odor, etc

• Volume
• Temperature
• PH
• Specific gravity
• Nitrites
• Creatinine
• Oxidizing agents

(b) Confirmatory Validity Tests

• Physical characteristics such as color, odor, etc.

• Volume
• Temperature
• PH
• Specific gravity
• Nitrites
• Creatinine
• Oxidizing agents
Other Methods for Confirmatory Validity Tests

• Physical characteristics-visually determined

• Volume-same as physical characteristics
• Temperature - using thermometer
• pH - pH Meter calibrated with appropriate buffers
• Specific gravity - use a refractometer

Criteria in determining tampered urine specimen

The following are the criteria in determining whether a urine specimen is tampered or not:

(a) Adulterated

• pH: <3 or > 11

• Nitrite: >500.0 uglL
• Presence of endogenous/exogenous substances (e.g oxidizing agents)

(b) Diluted

• Sp. Gravity: <1.003

• Creatinine: <1768.0 umol/ml

(c) Substituted

• Sp. Gravity: <1.003 or >1.020

• Creatinine: <442.0 umol/L
• pH <2 or > 9

When do we consider a urine specimen as invalid?

A urine specimen is considered invalid under the following circumstances:

Adulterated, substituted or diluted
Improperly collected, handled and stored
Improperly documented