Controlled drugs and their significance

1. Controlled Substances

2. What is a controlled substance?
“Controlled substance” is a legal term referring specifically to
substances controlled by federal or state laws.
Drugs
Possession of a controlled substance for personal use
is at least a misdemeanor on the first offense.

3. What is a controlled substance?
Used interchangeably with “drug of abuse” but some drugs of abuse
are not illegal, e.g., caffeine.
Drugs

4. Controlled Substances Act, 1970
Established legal definitions for drugs
Set up five schedules for classification of
drugs and penalties for each.
Drugs

5. Controlled Substances Act, 1970
Five Schedules:
 Schedule I drugs carry the most severe
penalties; considered to have a “high potential
for abuse” and have “no accepted medical use”
 Schedule II drugs have a high potential for abuse
but have an accepted medical use
 Schedules III – V have an accepted medical use
and decrease in potential for abuse
Drugs

6. Types of Drugs
Naturally Occurring: Marijuana, Cocaine, Morphine, Codeine,
Psilocybin/Psilocin
Synthetic: Phencyclidine (PCP), Amphetamines, Barbiturates
Semisynthetic: (prepared chemically from a natural substance)
Heroin, LSD
Drugs

7. Marijuana – Cannabis sativa
Cannabis sativa – multi-use plant:
- fibers  ropes, fishnets, clothing
- seeds  food, oil (non-food uses)
- glands  psychoactive drug
Cannabaceae
- Includes only Cannabis and
Humulus (hops)
- Related to Moraceae, Celtidaceae,
Ulmaceae
- herbaceous, laticifers, dioecious

8. Cannabis plants

9. Legal Definition:
• All parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L., whether growing or
not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of
such plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt,
derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds or
resins; but shall not include the mature stalks of such plant,
fiber produced from such stalks, oil or cake made from the
seeds of such plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt
derivative, mixture or preparation of such mature stalks
(except the resin extracted there from) fiber, oil, or cake, or
the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of
germination
Marijuana

10. Background and History of
Marijuana
• Marijuana is a mixture of dried and crumbled leaves,
small stems, and flowering tops.
• It can be consumed orally, as in cookies or brownies,
but is usually smoked in rolled cigarettes known as
“joints,” various kinds of pipes, or in hollowed-out cigars
called “blunts.”

11. Marijuana – History of Use
Cannabis – native to central Asia
Chinese – first to use, employed for fabric, medicines
India – country where first used for hallucinogenic properties
Africa – introduced through Arab traders; used as medicine
Europe – became popular in 1800s
U.S.A. – 1900s -- use proscribed, outlawed
End of 20th century – contentious debate regarding merits of
legalization

12. How is it Used?
• Usually smoked as a cigarette rolled, hand-
made (called a joint or a nail), in a pipe or a
bong.
• Has recently appeared in cigars called blunts
and spliffs.

13. Background and History of
Marijuana
• Hemp contains 70 unique compounds known as
cannabinoids, plus more than 400 other identified
compounds.
• The psychoactive compound Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC), accounts for the use of cannabis as a drug.

14. Background and History of
Marijuana
• Hashish is a cannabis derivitive that can be
smoked or eaten.
• It can refer to a relatively pure resin preparation
with very high cannabinoid content, or a solvent
extract of leaves or resin.
• Hash oil is an alcoholic extract. A drop is placed
on a tobacco or marijuana cigarette.

15. Cannabis Biology
Major Drug Component – delta-trans-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
- binds to specific receptors in brain
THC- produced in glands on leaves and flowers
-- female plants produce more glands
-- gland production stimulated by heat, sunlight, drought
-- sinsemilla (sin = without semilla = seeds) – particularly strong
Hashish – product - relatively pure resin

16. Mechanisms of Action
• A cannabinoid receptor in the CNS
was identified in 1988.
• Receptors occur in many brain areas.
• CB1 is the receptor found in the CNS.
• CB2 occurs in the immune system and
other tissues such as bone, adipose
(fat) cells, and the GI tract.

17. Mechanisms of Action
• Cannabinoid receptors are
metabotropic; they work via G proteins
to inhibit cAMP formation,
• inhibit voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channels,
and open K+ channels.
• cannabinoids can inhibit the release of
many neurotransmitters.

18. Mechanisms of Action
• Synthetic cannabinoid agonists and
antagonists have been developed for
research and potential therapeutic use.
• THC given to mice induces reduced
locomotor activity, hypothermia,
catelepsy, and hypoalgesia—mediated
through CB1 receptors.
• CB1 receptors also play an important
role in the reward system.

19. Chemical structure of 9-tetrahydro-
cannabinol (THC)

20. “Coca leaves and any salt, compound, derivative, or preparation
thereof…”
Drugs
Cocaine
Legal Definition:

21. Cocaine
Erythroxylum – shrubby species of
Andean highlands
- used by Incas as mild stimulant
(must be mixed with basic solution
to aid in extraction/absorption of
alkaloids)

22. Cocaine – History of use
3000+ yrs – used by indigenous peoples in
South American highlands as mild stimulant
1860 – cocaine isolated in pure form
1884 – S. Freud “Uber Coca” – recommended
use
1800s – used in various products, including
Coca-cola
1904 – use banned from food products
Andean User – 0.2 mg/day (chewing
57 g leaves)
Heavy User (U.S.) – 2-3 g (2000-
3000 times dose of Andean user)
Heart Failure, as low as 20 mg (100
times dose from chewing leaves)

23. Cocaine – History of Abuse
1914 – Drug declared illegal in U.S.A.
Coke = hydrochloride salt of cocaine, water soluble so it moves
across membranes (sniffing or snorting  powder taken into
nostrils)
Crack = altered form by treating coke with boiling water and baking
soda (freebase, involves use of ether in process  more dangerous)
Both crack and freebase can be injected or smoked
Addictive, debilitating drug
1998 – 1.5 million Americans
chronic cocaine/crack users
*** Can be lethal at first use ***

24. Cocaine – special problems
Mode of action: interferes with re-uptake of dopamine, brain
neurotransmitter  prolongs feeling of well-being
Physiological effects  addiction + withdrawal
“Crack” Babies – from mothers addicted to crack cocaine
Destruction of mid-altitude forests in Andes to produce crop, in
Peru, Colombia
Association with rebellions – e.g. Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso -
Peru)
Red=active
Blue-inactive

26. Tobacco
Solanaceae (alkaloid-containing
family)
Nicotiana – N. tabacum; N.
rustica, N. suaveolens
Native to New World

27. Tobacco – History of Use
Native Americans – smoking, eating, snuffing
-- medicinal uses
-- considered sacred by many tribes

28. Tobacco – History of Use
Native Americans – smoking, eating, snuffing
-- medicinal uses
-- considered sacred by many tribes
1492 - Columbus – took tobacco to Old World
1556 – Thevet took seeds to France, started cultivation in Europe

29. Tobacco – History of Use
Native Americans – smoking, eating, snuffing
-- medicinal uses
-- considered sacred by many tribes
1492 - Columbus – took tobacco to Old World
1556 – Thevet took seeds to France, started cultivation in Europe
1604 - King James I: Counterblaste to Tobacco
Note: this was more of a political statement than a sincere
expression of concern about human health

30. Occurrence: coca plant grows at high
elevations (Andes mountains of Bolivia
Columbia), rarely found in pure form in U.S.
Legal/Scientific Issues: numerous isomers,
classified as narcotic, high income for abusers
(better legal defense)
Drugs
Cocaine

31. Papaver Alkaloids- Opiates Fig. 11.6, p. 279

32. Papaver Alkaloids- Opiates Fig. 11.6, p. 279

33. Oxycodone Hydrocodone

34. Opiates – History and Politics
3000 BC – first records of use; 2500 BC – Sumerian “joy plant”
Romans/Greeks – familiar with opium
Europe – 1525, rediscovery of solution of opium in alcohol =
laudanum (Paracelsus)
Chinese – first introduced in 7th century AD by Arab traders
 Banned by government
British trade policies  forced Chinese to trade for opium
1803 – morphine purified  able to deliver it in defined doses
Potent painkiller, but problem – addictive
Heroin – synthetic derivative of morphine -- addictive

35. Opium Production - Geography
Problems:
Area of production – poor countries, important cash crop
Area of consumption – wealthy countries, deleterious social effects
Transport – through remote areas, effects on biodiversity

36. Opium Production – 2002 Update
Poppy field in Afghanistan – lifeline for
subsistence farmers?

37. Legal Definition
 Covered under “opium derivatives, their salts, isomers, and salts
of isomers whenever the existence of such salts, isomers, and
salts of isomers is possible within the specific chemical
designation”
 May also be called diacetylmorphine
Drugs
Heroin

38. Occurrence: most are hot, dry Middle
Eastern Countries
Legal/Scientific Issues: Usually none,
quantity for scientific analysis
sometimes an issue
Drugs
Heroin

39. Legal definition
 Schedule I “hallucinogens”
 The mushrooms are not controlled federally, just the substances
derived from them.
Drugs
Psilocybin and Psilocin

40. Occurrence: found in a
number of mushrooms,
usually not extracted from
the mushrooms before being
sold
Legal/Scientific Issues:
Identification and extraction
from mushroom
Drugs
Psilocybin and Psilocin

41. What is Psilocybin?
• Psilocybin is a form of
mushrooms that contain
hallucinogenic properties.
• Also known as magic
mushrooms, psilocybin is
classified by the DEA as a
Schedule 1 Controlled
Substance.
• Hallucinogenic mushrooms
have, historically, been used by
several cultures during their
religious rituals.

42. How is Psilocybin Consumed?
• Eaten – While the mushrooms are usually dried
prior to sale and/or consumption, they can be
eaten raw or cooked like regular mushrooms.
• Drank – Heated with water to make a tea or a
soup.
• Smoked – The mushroom is ground into a fine
powder and often smoked on top of marijuana.

43.  Identifying controlled substances is a basic function of forensic
laboratories.
 The responsibility usually falls to a forensic chemist.
 The scope of analyses usually only falls within the categories of
drugs that are controlled by laws and statutes, i.e., in the context of
a crime.
Drugs
Summary