Drugs

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Drugs

• Harrison
• Forensics

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DRUGS
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Drug

• Defined as a natural or synthetic substance that
  is used to produce physiological or psychological
  effects in humans or other animals.
• Criminalists are concerned with a small number of
  drugs, mostly illicit- that are commonly used for
  their intoxication effects.

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Some common problem drugs

• Marijuana (most widely used illicit drug)
• Alcohol- (legal to consume, but not to drive
  under influence of)
• Ecstasy
• Cocaine
• Heroin
• Crack
• GHB

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Drug Use Has Grown in US

• It used to be considered a problem of members of
  the lower socioeconomic ladder.
• We now know it cuts across all social and ethnic
  classes of society.
• As of 2008 it was estimated that 23 million
  people in the US use illicit drugs.

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Terms to know

• Illicit- Breaking social norms Unlawful
• Depressant- is a chemical agent that diminishes
  the function or activity of a specific part of
  the body. The term is used in particular with
  regard to the central nervous system.
• Stimulant- A class of drugs that enhance brain
  activity. Prescription stimulants were used
  historically to treat asthma, obesity,
  neurological disorders, a variety of other
  ailments, before their potential for abuse and
  addiction became apparent.

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Crime Evidence

• 75 of evidence evaluated in crime labs in the US
  is drug related.
• New crime labs have been built and old ones
  expanded to deal with the case loads

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Drug Dependence

• Long recognized by society is generally looked at
  in two ways
• Psychological dependence
• Physical dependence.

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Psychological Dependence

• Many reasons behind drug use
• Addicts are often functioning human beings, not
  just social dropouts.
• Whatever the reason for a persons use, underlying
  psychological needs a desire to fulfill them
  create a conditioned pattern of drug abuse.
• Take drugs for perceived emotional well- being
  they believe they need them to feel happy, cope,
  relax, etc.

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Impact varies by type of drug and individuals who
use them.

• Alcohol, heroin, amphetamines, barbiturates,
  cocaine generally result in a high involvement of
  psychological dependence.
• (there is social use of alcohol, but an addict is
  dependent on it to deal with lifes stresses
  anxieties.)

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Physical Dependence

• A physiological change that produces the need for
  continued use.
• Abstaining from the drug will cause severe
  physical illness called withdrawal sickness or
  abstinence syndrome in addicts.
• Taking more drugs to avoid the symptoms of
  withdrawal sickness proves physical dependence.

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Withdrawal Sickness Symptoms

• Body chills
• Vomiting
• Stomach cramps
• Convulsions
• Insomnia
• Pain
• hallucinations

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Strong physical addictions

• Alcohol, heroin, barbiturates show strong
  levels of physical dependence.

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Societal Aspects of Drug Use

• More pre-occupied an individual is with the drug
  (addicted) the more they will allow personal
  health, economic relationships, family
  obligations to suffer.
• This leads to serious implications for the
  publics safety, health welfare.

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Good or Bad Drug

• Laws governing drugs are determined by weighing
  the beneficial aspects of the drug against the
  ultimate harm its abuse will do to the individual
  society as a whole.
• Tobacco coffee are addictive, but do not cause
  dangerous societal effects in a high enough
  degree to require laws prohibiting them.

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Types of Drugs

• Narcotics- substances that relieve pain or
  produce sleep.
• Opiates- painkiller derived from opium, a gummy,
  milky juice exuded through a small cut made in
  the unripe pod of an Asian Poppy. (examples
  heroin, morphine)
• Synthetic Opiates- not from plant, but man made
  to have similar effects as opiates. (example
  methadone)

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Hallucinogens

• Are drugs that cause marked alterations in normal
  thought processes, perceptions, and moods.
  (Marijuana, LSD)

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Depressants

• are psychoactive drugs that temporarily reduce
  the function or activity of a specific part of
  the body or brain. Examples of these kinds of
  effects may include sedation and hypotension. Due
  to their effects typically having a "down"
  quality to them, depressants are also
  occasionally referred to as "downers".
• effects may include cognitive/memory impairment,
  dissociation, muscle relaxation, lowered blood
  pressure/heart rate, respiratory depression,
  anesthesia, and anticonvulsant effects. Some are
  also capable of inducing feelings of euphoria.

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Common Drugs

• Cannabis- commonly referred to as Marijuana.  The
  narcotic is also known as Pot, Reefer, Grass,
  Weed, Herb, Joint, Doobie, Blunt, Chronic, Skunk
  Weed, etcIt can have a depressant effect in low
  doses, but can have a hallucinatory effect in
  moderate to high dosage.
• Ecstasy- Commonly referred to as "X, XTC, Zen,
  M, Beans, Rolls.."  It is a powerful stimulant
  psychedelic drug related to methamphetamine.

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• G.H.B.- Commonly referred to as "Grievous Bodily
  Harm", the drug Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid. It
  depresses the central nervous system, it is
  often abused for euphoric, sedative anabolic
  effects.  GHB is odorless nearly tasteless. 
  GHB has reportedly been used in cases of date
  rape.  Coma seizures can occur following abuse
  of GHB.
• COCAINE- Commonly referred to as "Coke, nose
  candy, powder, blow, snow" Cocaine is a
  naturally occurring stimulant found in the coca
  bush plant it is processed into cocaine by
  hydrochloride generally in a white or off-white
  color.  Users can overdose due to the
  constriction of blood vessels increased heart
  rate, often causes heart failure.

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• L.S.D.-is the most common hallucinogen. It is
  manufactured from lysergic acid, which is found
  in ergot, a fungus that grows on rye and other
  grains.  Its commonly referred to as "acid," is
  sold on the street in tablets, capsules, or
  occasionally in liquid form.  It is odorless and
  colorless, with a slightly bitter taste, is
  usually taken by mouth.  LSD is usually sold as
  "blotter acid", where the drug is imprinted on
  small, colorful sheets of paper. 
• CRACK COCAINE- is commonly referred to as "Rock,
  Parley, Slab, Cookie, Piece."   The cocaine is
  boiled down in water using a combination of
  baking soda to remove the impurities.  This
  produces rock like pieces that are smoked with
  homemade glass pipes, base pipes, or bent
  aluminum cans.  Crack cocaine is even more
  addicting than cocaine.

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• HEROIN- Commonly referred to as "Smack, Junk,
  Powder, Scag, Brownstone, China"  It was once
  thought to be the answer for a non addictive
  solution to morphine addiction, but turned out to
  be the one of the most highly addictive drugs of
  all. Ranging in color from white, brown, black,
  heroin has traditionally been injected. Heroin is
  much more potent today that in previous years
  just as dangerous addictive.
• SPECIAL K- is ketamine hydrochloride, a drug
  widely used as an animal tranquilizer by vets in
  pet surgery.  Normally found in injectable form,
  it is converted into a powder re-packaged in
  small zip lock bags or capsules. It is a powerful
  hallucinogen.  Ketamine is generally snorted but
  is sometimes sprinkled on tobacco or marijuana
  smoked.  Special K is frequently used in
  combination with other drugs, such as Ecstasy,
  heroin cocaine.