Exemption from import/export requirements for personal medical use. Final rule

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is amending its regulations to expressly incorporate the restrictions on personal use importation imposed by Congress in 1998 and to expand upon those restrictions to curtail the diversion that has continued even after the 1998 congressional amendment. Specifically, DEA is limiting to 50 dosage units the total amount of controlled substances that a United States resident may bring into the United States for legitimate personal medical use when returning from travel abroad at any location and by any means. This regulation will help prevent importation of controlled substances for unlawful use while still accommodating travelers who have a legitimate medical need for controlled substances during their journey.     

Registration and reregistration application fees. Confirmation of final rule,remanded for further notice and comment,and response to comments

DEA is publishing a final rule regarding the registration and reregistration fees charged to controlled substances registrants. DEA is required to charge reasonable fees relating to the registration and control of the manufacture, distribution, and dispensing of controlled substances. To address this mandate, on March 22, 1993 DEA published a final rule in the Federal Register, establishing registration fees for controlled substances registrants (58 FR 15272). Following publication of the final rule, the American Medical Association (AMA) and others filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia objecting to the new fees. The district court issued its final order granting the government's motion for summary judgment and disposing of all claims. The AMA appealed. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found DEA's rulemaking to be inadequate. The appeals court remanded, without vacating, the rule to DEA, requiring the agency to provide an opportunity for meaningful notice and comment on the fee-funded components of the Diversion Control Program. DEA responded to the remand requirement through a document published in the Federal Register on December 30, 1996 (61 FR 68624). This Final Rule supplements the December 30, 1996 Federal Register document and with that document, constitutes the final rule on the Drug Diversion Control Fee Account.     

Organic impurity profiling of fentanyl samples associated with recent clandestine laboratory methods

Nearly a decade ago, fentanyl reappeared in the United States illicit drug market. In the years since, overdose deaths have continued to rise as well as the amount of fentanyl seized by law enforcement agencies. Research surrounding fentanyl production has been beneficial to regulatory actions and understanding illicit fentanyl production. In 2017, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began collecting seized fentanyl samples from throughout the United States to track purity, adulteration trends, and synthetic impurity profiles for intelligence purposes. The appearance of a specific organic impurity, phenethyl-4-anilino-N-phenethylpiperidine (phenethyl-4-ANPP) indicates a shift in fentanyl production from the traditional Siegfried and Janssen routes to the Gupta-patent route. Through a collaboration between the DEA and the US Army's Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC), the synthesis of fentanyl was investigated via six synthetic routes, and the impurity profiles were compared to those of seized samples. The synthetic impurity phenethyl-4-ANPP was reliably observed in the Gupta-patent route published in 2013, and its structure was confirmed through isolation and structure elucidation. Organic impurity profiling results for illicit fentanyl samples seized in late 2021 have indicated yet another change in processing with the appearance of the impurity ethyl-4-anilino-N-phenethylpiperidine (ethyl-4-ANPP). Through altering reagents traditionally used in the Gupta-patent route, the formation of this impurity was determined to occur through a modification of the route as originally described in the Gupta patent.     

Designation of oripavine as a basic class of controlled substance. Final rule

This is a final rule issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) designating oripavine (3-O-demethylthebaine or 6,7,8,14-tetradehydro-4,5-alpha-epoxy-6-methoxy-17-methylmorphinan-3-ol) as a basic class in schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Although oripavine was not previously listed in schedule II of the CSA, it has been controlled in the United States as a derivative of thebaine and, as such, is controlled as a schedule II controlled substance which includes "Opium and opiate, and any salt, compound, derivative, or preparation of opium or opiate." Oripavine is a derivative of thebaine, a natural constituent of opium, hence oripavine has been and continues to be, by virtue of the definition of "narcotic drug", a schedule II controlled substance. International control of oripavine in schedule I of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961 Convention) during the 50th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in 2007 prompted the DEA to specifically designate oripavine as a basic class of controlled substance in schedule II of the CSA.     

The clandestine drug laboratory situation in the United States

Clandestine, or illegal, laboratories are operated by the criminal element to circumvent legal requirements with the goal of supplying drugs of abuse to the illicit market. Investigation of clandestine drug manufacturing laboratories is a high priority of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) because elimination of these laboratories will prevent drugs of abuse from reaching the illicit drug traffic. One of the important responsibilities of forensic chemists assisting in investigations of clandestine drug laboratories is to be familiar with the methods of synthesis being used by clandestine laboratory operators. A review of clandestine laboratory seizures during the period of 1978 through 1981 will be provided to familiarize forensic chemists with current information on the types of laboratories being seized in the United States and the methods of synthesis being used.     

Does racism affect health? Evidence from the United States and the United Kingdom

Blacks have worse overall health than whites in both the United States and the United Kingdom. However, the relative difference in health between the two groups within each cultural context differs between each context. In this article, we attempt to glean insights into these health disparities. We do so by first examining what is currently known about differences in morbidity and mortality for blacks and whites in the United States and the United Kingdom. We then turn to medical examination data by race and country of birth in an attempt to further untangle the complex interplay of socioeconomic status (SES), race, and racism as determinants of health in the United States and the United Kingdom. We find that (1) longer exposure of blacks to the recipient country is a risk for mortality in the United States but not in the United Kingdom; (2) adjustment for SES matters a good deal for mortality in the United States, but less so in the United Kingdom; (3) morbidity indicators do not paint a clear picture of black disadvantage relative to whites in either context; and (4) were one to consider medical examination data alone, differences between the two groups exist only in the United States. Taken together, we conclude that it is possible that the "less racist" United Kingdom provides a healthier environment for blacks than the United States. However, there remain many mysteries that escape simple explanation. Our findings raise more questions than they answer, and the health risks and health status of blacks in the United States are much more complex than previously thought.     

Adjustment of status; certain H-1 nonimmigrant nurses--INS. Final rule

This final rule implements section 162(f) of the Immigration Act of 1990 (IMMACT 90). Section 162(f) of IMMACT 90 retroactively amended the Immigration Nursing Relief Act of 1989 (INRA) to allow additional alien nurses, their spouses, and children to become lawful permanent residents of the United States. This rule establishes procedures for the adjustment of status to that of lawful permanent resident for these alien nurses and certain family members in the United States. This rule alleviates the critical shortage of nurses in the United States by allowing qualified registered nurses who had formerly been granted temporary employment authorization under the H-1 category the opportunity to live and work permanently in this country as lawful permanent residents, with the possibility of becoming United States citizens in the future. This rule also makes organizational, grammatical, and stylistic changes to agency regulations which will make them easier to read and use.     

TRANSFERRING JUVENILES TO ADULT COURTS. Recent trends and issues in Canada and the United States

This paper examines the practice of transferring youngsters from juvenile to adult courts in Canada and the United States from 1986 to 1994. The research indicates that Canada and the United States have similar provisions for trying youths as adults. The United States transfers large numbers of juveniles (nearly 13,000 per year recently) to adult courts each year, and most of these youngsters are non-violent offenders. By contrast, in Canada transfers are still relatively rare (521 over a nine year period), and most of these youngsters are charged with violent offenses.     

美国灾害救援对策立法及对我国的启示

美国是一个自然灾害高发的国家,主要灾害有洪水、地震、飓风与龙卷风等。由于经济发达物质财富高度集中,每一次严重自然灾害都会造成巨大的经济损失。为了尽量减少灾害所造成的损失,美国政府非常重视各种灾害对策研究及其立法。本文作者从美国灾害救援体系、灾!言对策立法两个方面着重介绍了美国的灾害对策模式,最后论述了美国经验对我国的借鉴意义。     

An Exploratory Study of Honor Crimes in the United States

There is a lack of research on honor crimes within the United States. We used an open source search methodology to identify the victim-offender relationship and motivations for this crime within the United States. Using data collected based on the protocol for the United States Extremist Crime Database (ECDB), we identified a total of 16 honor crimes with 40 victims that occurred between January 1st 1990 and December 31st 2014 in the United States. Based on our findings, the overarching motivations for honor crimes in the United States were the perpetrator’s former partner beginning the process of separation and the westernized behavior of the victim, typically the offender’s daughter or step-daughter. Honor crimes were not limited to current/former intimate partners or daughters, as they also included the death of extended family members (e.g. in-laws, nieces, and cousins). Policy implications and directions for future research on honor crimes are discussed.     

行政立法效益评估——美国的做法及启示

行政立法效益评估是美国自上世纪70年代以后逐渐发展起来的通过运用成本——收益分析或成本——效果分析方法对行政立法进行评估以改善行政立法质量的一种制度。目前行政立法效益评估已经成为美国重要行政立法的必经程序之一,有效地促进了管制政策制定的科学性和合理性,对于提升行政效能起到了良好的推动作用。本文从美国行政立法效益评估兴起的背景、主要做法及其对我国行政效能监督的启示三个方面对美国行政立法效益评估进行了阐述,文章认为美国行政立法效益评估中立法谦抑的指导思想,集中统一的审查机制和科学合理的评估方法对于我国行政效能监督建设最具借鉴意义。     

Goodbye to All That? The Rule of Law,International Law,the United States,and the Use of Force

The attitude of past United States administrations to public international law, particularly but not exclusively governing the use of force, has often seemed ambivalent, or sometimes decidedly hostile (where the conduct of the United States itself was called in to question). This paper considers the attitude of many of those with power or influence in the Bush administration (particularly that of the 'neo-conservatives'), and the implications of their often thinly disguised contempt for public international law which might seek to constrain the exercise of United States power. The conclusion is that while the academic arguments which seek to justify this American 'exceptionalism' are worthy of serious examination, they are ultimately inadequate and in the interests of neither the rest of the world, nor, finally, the United States itself.     

Waiver of the two-year home country physical presence requirement for certain foreign medical graduates--INS. Interim rule with request for comments

This rule amends the Immigration and Naturalization Service (Service) regulations by allowing certain foreign medical graduates who entered the United States in J-1 status, or who acquired J-1 status after arrival in the United States, to obtain a waiver of the 2-year home country residence and physical presence requirement under section 212(e)(iii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (Act) pursuant to a request by a State Department of Public Health, or its equivalent. The waiver is intended to permit these foreign medical graduates to work at a health care facility in an area designated by the Secretary, Health and Human Services (HHS), as having a shortage of health care professionals ("HHS-designated shortage area"). This interim rule also contains provisions which will permit these foreign medical graduates to change their nonimmigrant status in the United States from J-1 exchange visitor to H-1B specialty occupation worker.     

论美国进出口银行的宗旨与经营原则——兼及中国进出口银行制度的完善

经过70多年的历史演变,美国进出口银行不但具有法定的经营宗旨,而且还具有用以支持这一法定宗旨的经济理论依据.围绕其法定宗旨的实现,美国国会还通过立法确立了美国进出口银行的一系列经营原则、如竞争性原则、补充性原则、经营性原则等.相对于美国进出口银行完善的法律制度,我国有关中国进出口银行的制度无论在立法的形式上还是在内容上都有许多不足之处.因此有必要借鉴美国的管理经验,完善我国的进出口银行制度.     

Traffick jam: a policy review of the United States’ Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000

The United States enacted the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 to combat organized networks specializing in the illicit transport of human beings across political and geographical boundaries. This response has engendered conflicting definitions and competing agendas attributable to the definition set forth by the TVPA, which divides the crime into ‘sex’ verses ‘labor’ trafficking. The European Union (EU) adopted a different and detailed definition introduced by the United Nations. This paper explores the disparity in anti-trafficking policies of the United States and the EU. By contrasting these efforts, recommendations to strengthen U.S. policy by adapting certain EU practices to an American context are suggested.     

TO REGULATE OR NOT TO REGULATE: THE NEED FOR COMPLIANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL NORMS BY GUATEMALA AND COOPERATION BY THE UNITED STATES IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTIONS

The United States will be entering into force the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption by the end of 2007. At this time, all intercountry adoptions that occur between the United States and one of the 70 other countries that also have entered the Hague Convention into force must be done according to Hague protocol. Guatemala has entered the Convention into force but its adoption practices do not currently align themselves with Convention requirements. The U.S. State Department has threatened that intercountry adoptions between the United States and Guatemala will come to a complete stop if Guatemala's conditions are not reformed. One out of every 100 children born in Guatemala is adopted by an American family and in the 2006 fiscal year, the United States adopted 4,135 Guatemalan babies. This high number placed Guatemala as the second country from which the United States adopted the most children in 2006 second only to China. A structured compromise must be established between the United States and Guatemala in order to ensure the continued provision of homes to Guatemala babies in America while Guatemala reforms its malignant adoption practices.     

Malaria deaths in the United States: case report and review of deaths, 1979-1998

Malaria is the world's most important parasitic disease, accounting for an estimated 300 to 500 million new cases and between 1.5 and 2.7 deaths annually. The majority of these deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa where malaria is endemic and are the result of infection with Plasmodium falciparum. The number of deaths in the United States due to malaria is comparably much lower and involves so-called "imported" cases in which U.S. travelers acquire the infection upon travel to endemic areas and subsequently return to the United States or in which infected foreign citizens travel to the United States. There were a total of 118 deaths due to malaria in the United States between 1979 and 1998 with an average of 5.9 deaths per year. Specific epidemiological data provided by the CDC regarding the 40 deaths that occurred between 1992 and 1998 yielded the following results. Deaths occurred in patients ranging from 9 months to 89 years of age (median, 53 years). Thirty-eight (95%) of these were due to P. falciparum and two (5%) due to P. vivax. Anti-malarial chemoprophylaxis was taken in 40% of cases, not taken in 45% of cases, and unknown in 15% of cases. Twenty-four (60%) of the cases involved U.S. travelers to endemic areas, of whom 59% traveled to Africa, 25% to South America, 8% to India, 4% to Haiti, and 4% to unspecified areas. The remaining cases included eleven foreign travelers to the U.S. (27.5%), three induced cases (7.5%), and two undetermined cases (5%). Thirty-nine (98%) of the cases were diagnosed antemortem and only one case was known to have come to the attention of the medical examiner/coroner. An illustrative case report demonstrates many of the features associated with fatal malaria infections in the United States. The case involves a U.S. student who was studying in Africa and who, by report, had not taken antimalarial chemoprophylaxis. Despite seeking medical attention, the patient was not diagnosed with P. falciparum infection and cerebral malaria until the time of medico-legal autopsy, where the classic gross and microscopic features of cerebral malaria were identified. This case represents one of the few cases of P. falciparum infection in the United States not diagnosed antemortem. Given the worldwide prevalence of the disease, increasing international travel, and rapidly developing drug resistance, malaria will continue to be an important disease and should be considered in cases of sudden, unexplained deaths. By reviewing the major epidemiological features of malaria-related deaths in the United States and by presenting the major gross and microscopic features of cerebral malaria, an attempt is made at raising the awareness of the forensic community to the potential of malaria-related deaths.