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?