More Drugs Notes, Marijuana Legality

Forensic Science

2/2/15

Drill

• What drug is this?– Coke, Snow, Blow– Smack, Horse, Brownstone– Grass, Weed, Skunk– Roids, Juice– Ice, Crank, Crystal

• HW: Use Chapter 5 in the book to start working on pg. 4, Drugs—Review Qs

Objectives

• IWBAT– Describe the classes of drugs in greater

detail.

Opiates

• Morphine is readily extracted from opium and is used to synthesize heroin.

• Addicts frequently dissolve heroin in water by heating it in a spoon, and then inject in the skin.

Opiates

• Heroin produces a “high” that is accompanied by drowsiness and a sense of well-being that generally last for three to four hours.

• Codeine is also present in opium, but it is usually prepared synthetically from morphine.

Other Narcotics

• OxyContin, with the active ingredient oxycodone, is not derived from opium or morphine, but does have the same physiological effects on the body as opium narcotics.

• Formulations of OxyContin have been made to reduce the ease of abuse.

• OxyContin is prescribed to a million patients for treatment of chronic pain.

Other Narcotics

• Methadone is another well-known synthetic opiate.

• Methadone, which is pharmacologically related to heroin, appears to eliminate the addict’s desire for heroin while producing minimal side effects.

Depressants

• These include alcohol (ethanol), barbiturates, tranquilizers, and various substances that can be sniffed, such as airplane glue, model cement, or aerosol gas propellants such as freon.

• Mixing depressants with alcohol and other drugs increases potency and health risks

Depressants

• Alcohol (ethyl alcohol) enters the bloodstream and quickly travels to the brain, where it acts to suppress the brain’s control of thought processes and muscle coordination.

• More on alcohol, later

Depressants

• Barbiturates, or “downers,” are normally taken orally and create a feeling of well-being, relax the body, and produce sleep.

Depressants

• Tranquilizers, unlike barbiturates, produce a relaxing tranquility without impairment of high-thinking faculties or inducing sleep.

• Sniffing has immediate effects such as exhilaration, but impairs judgment and may cause liver, heart, and brain damage, or even death.

Stimulants

• The drug classification of stimulants includes amphetamines, sometimes known as “uppers” or “speed,” and cocaine, which in its free-base form is known as crack.

• Amphetamine and methamphetamine, often injected intravenously, cause an initial “rush,” followed by an intense feeling of pleasure.

• This is followed by a period of exhaustion and a prolonged period of depression.

Stimulants

• Cocaine, extracted from the leaves of Erythroxylin coca, causes increased alertness and vigor, accompanied by the suppression of hunger, fatigue, and boredom.

Stimulants

• Crack is cocaine mixed with baking soda and water, then heated.

• Crack is often smoked in glass pipes, and the cocaine molecule stimulates the brain’s pleasure center.

Club Drugs

• The term club drugs refers to synthetic drugs that are used at nightclubs, bars, and raves (all-night dance parties).

• Substances that are often used as club drugs include, but are not limited to, MDMA (Ecstasy), GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate), Rohypnol (“Roofies”), and ketamine.

• GHB and Rohypnol are central nervous system depressants that are often connected with drug-facilitated sexual assault, rape, and robbery.

Club Drugs

• MethyleneDioxyMethAmphetamine, also known as MDMA or Ecstasy, is a synthetic mind-altering drug that exhibits many hallucinogenic and amphetamine-like effects.

• Ecstasy enhances self-awareness and decreases inhibitions, however, seizures, muscle breakdown, stroke, kidney failure, and cardiovascular system failure often accompany chronic abuse.

Club Drugs

• Ketamine is primarily used as a veterinary animal anesthetic that in humans causes euphoria and hallucinations.

• Ketamine can also cause impaired motor functions, high blood pressure, amnesia, and mild respiratory depression.

Marijuana

• Marijuana is the most controversial drug in this class because its long-term effects on health are still largely unknown.

• Marijuana comes from the plant Cannabis.

• The chemical substance largely responsible for the hallucinogenic properties is known as TetraHydroCannabinol, or THC.

Marijuana

• The THC content of Cannabis varies in different parts of the plant, generally decreasing in the following sequence: resin, flowers, leaves, with little THC in the stem, roots or seeds.

• The THC-rich resin is known as hashish.• Marijuana does not cause physical

dependency, but the risk of harm is in heavy, long-term use.

Marijuana and Laws

• Marijuana Legalization– Laws or policies which make the possession and use of marijuana legal under state law.

• Marijuana Decriminalization– Laws or policies adopted in a number of state and local jurisdictions which reduce the penalties for possession and use of small amounts of marijuana from criminal sanctions to fines or civil penalties. 

Marijuana and Laws

• Medical Marijuana– State laws which allow an individual to defend him or herself against criminal charges of marijuana possession if the defendant can prove a medical need for marijuana under state law. 

Marijuana and Laws

• Marijuana is still a Schedule I drug, under federal law.

• Trafficking in marijuana (taking it across state lines) is a federal offense, as is any possession, distribution, or growing.

Marijuana and Laws

• 23 states have passed either “medical marijuana” laws, that allow smoked marijuana for medical purposes, or have decriminalized small amounts (1 oz. or less)

• Two states, Colorado and Washington, have legalized marijuana for adults 21 and older.– Two more, Alaska and Oregon, have voted to legalize use by 2016

• Maryland's law allows for medical marijuana use as a legal defense in court. Possession of more than one ounce of marijuana and public consumption for medical reasons is still illegal. 

• Possession of less than one ounce has been decriminalized in MD—it is now a civil offense, punishable by a fine, only.

Other Hallucinogens

• Other hallucinogens include LSD, mescaline, PCP, psilocybin, and MDMA (Ecstasy).

• LSD is synthesized from lysergic acid, and can cause hallucinations that can last for 12 hours.

PCP

• Phencyclidine (1-(1-PhenylCyclohexyl)Piperidine)), or PCP, is often synthesized in clandestine laboratories and is often smoked, ingested, sniffed.

• Phencyclidine is often mixed with other drugs, such as LSD, or amphetamine, and is sold as a powder (“angel dust”), capsule, or tablet.

• Oral intake of PCP first leads to feelings of strength and invulnerability, which may turn to depression, tendencies toward violence, and suicide.

Add this – Anabolic Steroids

• Side effects include unpredictable effects on mood and personality, depression, diminished sex drive, halting bone growth, and liver cancer.

Think-Pair

• Marijuana Legalization—what do you know about it and what do you think?

• Take out a sheet of notebook paper.• On the front:

– THINK—Jot down facts that you know about marijuana legalization and decriminalization. Write down what YOU think on the topic and why. Consider the opposite opinion and write a reason why someone would have that opinion.

– PAIR—turn to the person next to you at your table (may be 3) and discuss what you wrote.

Research-Pair-Share

• Flip your paper over.• On the back

– RESEARCH—Read the US DOJ Memo about Marijuana Enforcement• How is the DOJ focusing its efforts in marijuana

enforcement?• What is the role of the state, according to the DOJ?• Would this document allow you to make a defense in a

federal court on a marijuana charge?

– PAIR—Discuss with the people at your table– SHARE—Let’s discuss this as a class

Closure

• True/False– Rohypnol is a nervous system depressant,

associated with date rape.– Marijuana is legal to buy and sell under

federal laws.– Codeine is usually extracted from opium.