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Forensic Toxicology

Forensic Toxicology: Detection Of Homicidal Poisonings

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Those at highest risk for being victims of poisoning are the terminally ill and mentally incapacitated, drug addicts, the elderly, and the very young. Unwanted spouses or lovers compose another high-risk group. The offender is usually personally involved with the victim and is often a caregiver. Poisoners often assume the role of attempting to "nurse" the victim back to health. Poisoners often derive pleasure from seeing their victims suffer, and serial poisoners usually enjoy the thrill of having power over the life and suffering of the victim. Perpetrators of homicidal poisonings are often employed in the medical or caregiving fields. Substances that can be lethal in small amounts appeal most to perpetrators. The ideal poison for a homicide is odorless, tasteless, difficult to detect, and a bearer of symptoms similar to naturally occurring diseases. It has become increasingly difficult to find a poison with all of these features, since modern....

Additional Resource: Just a Pinch of Cyanide: The Basics of Homicidal Poisoning Investigations

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Drug Toxicology for Prosecutors

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Drug impaired drivers kill and maim thousands of people each and every year in the United States. Unfortunately, prosecuting drug-impaired drivers is a daunting task. Jurors, who are very familiar with alcohol’s effects, signs and symptoms, often know little or nothing about other drugs. Tainted by crime shows like CSI: Miami, they may have unrealistic expectations about the nature and quantum of available proof. Unlike alcohol, most states do not have “per se” limits for drugged driving. To successfully explain the evidence and issues to jurors in Driving Under the Influence of Drugs (DUID) cases, prosecutors must understand the basics of drug toxicology.This publication is designed to provide prosecutors with a basic understanding of drug pharmacology and testing. The author, Dr. Sarah Kerrigan, is the former Toxicology Bureau Chief of the New Mexico Department of Health’s Scientific Laboratory Division. Priorto this, she worked as a Forensic Toxicologist for the...

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Interpretation Of Post-Mortem Stimulant Laboratory Determinations

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Abstract

Detailed human case data is presented to illustrate the dramatic extent of the phenomenon of post-mortem drug redistribution. The data suggests that there is a post-mortem diffusion of drugs along a concentration gradient, from sites of high concentration in solid organs, into the blood with resultant artefactual elevation of drug levels in blood. Highest drug levels were found in central vessels such as pulmonary artery and vein, and lowest levels were found in peripheral vessels such as subclavian and femoral veins. In individual cases, in multiple blood samples obtained from ligated vessels, concentrations of doxepin and desmethyldoxepin ranged from 3.6 to 12.5 mg/l and 1.2 to 7.5 mg/l, respectively; amobartital, secobarbital and pentobarbital from 4.3 to 25.8 mg/l, 3.9 to 25.3 mg/l and 5.1 to 31.5 mg/l respectively; clomipramine and desmethylclomipramine from 4.0 to 21.5 mg/l and 1.7 to 8.1 mg/l, respectively and flurazepam 0.15 to 0.99 mg/l; imipramine and desipramine from

Additional Resource: Post-mortem drug redistribution--a toxicological nightmare

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Forensic Toxicology

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Forensic Toxicology

Forensic toxicology is the analysis of biological samples for the presence of toxins, including drugs. The toxicology report can provide key information as to the type of substances present in an individual and if the amount of those substances is consistent with a therapeutic dosage or is above a harmful level. These results can be used to make inferences when determining a substance's potential effect on an individual's death, illness, or mental or physical impairment. For example, the results of a blood analysis from a driver involved in a car accident can be used to determine if the individual was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Forensic toxicology is a continually advancing discipline. New drugs are always being developed, which creates a constant need to design novel approaches for their detection. To rise to this challenge, new instrumentation is being used and new detection methods are constantly in development.

NIJ seeks to fund research to:

  • Improve tools and technologies to better identify, collect, preserve and analyze biological samples to show the presence of drugs and other substances in a person.

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Chloroform

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What is chloroform?

Chloroform, also called trichloromethane or methyltrichloride, is a colorless liquid with a pleasant, nonirritating odor and a slightly sweet taste. As a volatile organic compound (VOC), chloroform easily vaporizes (turns into a gas) in the air. Chloroform does not easily burn, but it will burn when it reaches very high temperatures. Chloroform was one of the first inhaled anesthetics to be used during surgery, but it is not used in anesthesia today.

Where do you find chloroform?

In order to destroy the harmful bacteria found in our drinking water and waste waters, the chemical chlorine is added to these water sources. As a by-product of adding chlorine to our drinking and waste waters, small amounts of chloroform are formed. So small amounts of chloroform are likely to be found almost everywhere. In industry, nearly all the chloroform made in the U.S. is used to make other chemicals. From the factories that make or use this

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