Bulletin on narcotics最新文献

A century ago, the Chinese opium epidemic spurred international action on drug control as policymakers realized that the problem was too complex for any one country to tackle in isolation. Starting with the International Opium Commission (Shanghai, 1909), Governments over time established an international consensus on the need for the regulation of psychoactive substances. Moreover, a set of normative instruments and multilateral bodies and systems were developed to help States implement and adjudicate such regulation. As a result, the three main drug control conventions, which form the foundation of the international drug control system, today enjoy near universal adherence, with more than 180 States parties. This volume presents an outline of the historical development of the modern drug control system: why and how it arose, its impact on drug production and consumption and its legacy for present and future international drug control efforts.

Cannabis is the world's most widely cultivated and consumed illicit drug, but there remain major gaps in our understanding of global cannabis markets. For example, it appears that premium sinsemilla cannabis, often produced indoors in consumer countries, has become more potent in recent years and that its market share is also growing in some areas. This may be leading to greater localization of cannabis markets. It may also be responsible for the increase in the proportion of cannabis users in treatment populations at the international level. Assessing the extent and impact of this trend, however, is hampered both by a lack of international standards on issues such as terminology and by unanswered research questions. In order to arrive at accurate global estimates of the extent of production, there is a need for more scientific data on cannabis yields. On the demand side, more information is required on the question of cannabis dosage and volumes used by both occasional and regular users. Cannabis is not a uniform drug: the impact of using cannabis of differing potencies and chemical compositions needs to be researched. While issues concerning cannabis have been evaluated many times in the past, it remains a highly adaptable plant and, consequently, a dynamic drug, requiring constant reassessment.

Various solvents can be used in the synthesis of the illicit synthetic drug methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, commonly known as Ecstasy). In the crystallization process, traces of those solvents can be trapped inside crystals; during the following tabletting process, the solvent traces remain present in the tablets. The forensic investigation of tablets for solvents may increase knowledge of production methods and contribute to a possible choice of monitoring or regulating certain organic solvents. Further, the identification and quantification of solvents in MDMA tablets may contribute to the chemical characterization of illicit tablets for comparative examination. The methods of analysis of volatile components in illicit MDMA tablets described so far are often based on solid-phase micro extraction (SPME). To avoid several disadvantages of SPME, a quantitative static headspace method was developed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS); for quantification, the standard addition method appeared to be advantageous. The residual solvents in 155 MDMA tablets were analysed and 150 of them were quantified.

Drug testing outside the laboratory environment has become widespread and provides presumptive results within minutes of collection of the specimen. This has become particularly useful for testing of urine and oral fluid. Applications include workplaces where drug use has safety implications, drivers of vehicles at the roadside and situations where drug impairment is suspected. The present article explores the relative advantages of this form of testing for the specimens that can be collected and discusses issues such as cut-offs, the need for laboratory confirmation and safeguards to ensure legal defensibility.

Field studies on cannabis cultivation have provided socio-economic data relating to, inter alia, production, yield and income. But only laboratory analyses of cannabis plants can provide information on their chemical composition and their levels of psychoactive constituents, thus enabling them to be classed as a drug type or a fibre type. The present study, which covers cannabis in its fresh, dried and powdered forms, drew on fresh samples, obtained on the day they were harvested or immediately after preparation; that was done in order to prevent any alteration in the A-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) caused by the oxidation that takes place as the product ages. The purpose of this study is to determine the THC level in 245 specimens obtained from 30 cannabis plots in three provinces of northern Morocco: Al Hoceima and Chefchaouen, where cannabis cultivation has a long tradition, and Larache, where cannabis cultivation has started only recently. Qualitative analysis using high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection revealed the presence of both the acid and the decarboxylated form of the main cannabinoids, cannabidiol, THC and cannabinol, and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry was used for the characterization of minor cannibinoids. Quantitative analysis using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry made it possible to determine the average delta-9-THC content of cannabis in its fresh form (0.5 per cent), its dry form (2.21 per cent) and its powdered form (8.3 per cent). The results show that the traditional areas of cannabis cultivation--Al Hoceima and Chefchaouen--produce cannabis with a higher delta-9-THC content than the Larache region. In addition, the present study establishes that male plants, often considered deficient in delta-9-THC, contain levels of the same order as those recorded for female plants, both in the leaves and in the tops.

Illicit drug abuse is a serious global problem that can only be solved through international cooperation. In Asian countries, the abuse of methamphetamine is one of the most pressing problems. To assist in the control of methamphetamine, the authors investigated in detail the character of ephedrine, which is a key precursor for the illicit manufacture of methamphetamine. Commercial ephedrine is produced by one of three methods: (a) extraction from Ephedra plants, (b) full chemical synthesis or (c) via a semi-synthetic process involving the fermentation of sugar, followed by amination. Although chemically there is no difference between ephedrine samples from different origins (natural, synthetic or semi-synthetic), scientific and analytical tools such as drug-characterization and impurity-profiling programmes may provide valuable information for law enforcement and regulatory activities as part of precursor control strategies. During the research under discussion in the present article, in addition to classical impurity profiling of manufacturing by-products, the use of stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry was investigated for determining the origin of the ephedrine that had been used as a precursor in seized methamphetamine samples. The results of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratio (delta13C and delta15N) analysis of samples of crystalline methamphetamine seized in Japan suggested that the drug had been synthesized from either natural or semi-synthetic ephedrine and not from synthetic ephedrine. Stable isotope ratio analysis is expected to be a useful tool for tracing the origins of seized methamphetamine. It has attracted much interest from precursor control authorities in Japan and the East Asian region and may prove useful in the international control of precursors.