Drugs and Toxicology
What is a drug?– Any substance
capable of producing a physiological response
What is a medicine?– combination of drugs
and inert ingredients
Used interchangeably
Drug Abuse?
Cocaine LSD Methamphetamin
e Marijuana
On a piece of paper write your name and your answer to the following question.
Imagine you have been drinking for two hours and in that time you have consumed five beers. Do you believe you are legally intoxicated?
Turn your paper in
Go to this web site
http://www.ou.edu/oupd/bac.htm
Determine whether you were correct
Alcohol’s effect on the body
http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/CollegeStudents/anatomy/InteractiveBody_flash.aspx
How are drugs classified?
Controlled Substances and the Controlled
Substance ActSchedule
Medical Use
Controls on Prescriptions
Required Security
Potential for abuse
Addiction potential
Examples
INone None: used only
for researchVault or safe Highest Severe LSD, heroin,
ecstasy, marijuana, GHB
IISome w/ restrictions
Written prescription w/ no refills
Vault or safe severe Morphine, cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, most barbituates, oxycodone
IIIAccepted use
Written or oral limits on refills
Secured area Moderate to low
Ketamine, anabolic steroids, some codeine preparations
IV Accepted use
Written or oral limits on refills
Secured area Limited Valium, mild sleep aids
V Accepted use
Written or oral limits on refillsover the counter
Secured area lowest limited Selected preparations of codeine
Toxicology
Toxicology is the study of the adverse effects of chemical, physical or biological agents on living organisms and the ecosystem, including the prevention and amelioration of such
adverse effects Forensic toxicologist:
limited to matters of violation of criminal law
“All substances are poisons: there is nonewhich is not a poison. The right dosedifferentiates a poison and a remedy.”Paracelsus (1493-1541)
LD50 = lethal dose for 50% of population
Takes into account all mechanisms for toxicity
Generally determined on animals for medicinal or other purposes
Material Dose (mg/kg)
Sucrose 29,700
Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)
4220
Sodium chloride (table salt)
3000
Ethanol 2080
Caffeine 192
Arsenous Trioxide
16.4
Sodium cyanide
6.4
Sarin 24
VX (nerve agent)
0.14
Toxicity Rating Scale and Labeling Requirements for Pesticides.
Category Signal word required on label
LD50 oral mg/kg(ppm)
LD50 dermal mg/kg(ppm)
Probable oral lethal dose
Ihighly toxic
DANGER-POISON(skull and crossbones)
less than 50 less than 200 a few drops to a teaspoon
IImoderately toxic
WARNING 51 to 500 200 to 2,000 over 1 teaspoon to 1 ounce
IIIslightly toxic CAUTION over 500 over 2,000 over 1 ounce
IVpractically non-toxic
none required
Dose-Response Relationships
Difficulty with assigning toxicity with drugs of abuse is we don’t know shape of relationship
Linear Hypothesis
Linear Hypothesis for Drugs? If a person takes 30 aspirin
tablets, the chance of death is 50%. What would the chance of death be if a person took 1 tablet if Linear Hypothesis was valid?
Typical Dose Response Relationships for Drugs
Sigmoidal shape Exact dose where
it rises steeply may vary from individual
Dose
Classify the following chemicals according to their relative toxicity Wellbutrin 607mg/kg Ketamine 77mg/kg Ethanol 2080mg/kg Heroin 10mg/kg Ibuprofen 636 mg/kg
Case of the Mass Poisoning
* April 2003 60 people at a church immediately became ill after drinking coffee* One member died* Police confirmed it was intentional arsenic poisoning * Two weeks later another member committed suicide, at that time 12 members were still in the hospital from poisoning* Person who committed suicide became a person on interest but had not acted out of character prior to death* Was murder intentional or was it meant as a prank?
What kind of symptoms would medical examiner see that would confirm arsenic poisoning?