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.     

Neutralized,enhanced, tokenistic: The influence of formal employment of service-users on processes of co-production

Can formally employing service-users in co-production roles redress the problematic power imbalances inhibiting co-production in the public sector? In this paper, we analyze service-users formally employed in co-production roles. Through semi-structured interviews, we illustrate how actors use their voice, experience, and identity to respond to different power imbalances. First, through the process of “inverting professionalism” structural limitations resulted in neutralized co-production. Second, through the process of “embedding expertise” formally employed service-users challenged collective expectations of their role and meditated power imbalances, resulting in enhanced co-production. Finally, through the process of “perpetuating rejection” a new exacerbated power imbalance emerged when their employment became a negative resource, resulting in tokenistic co-production. We extend understandings of how formally employing service-users has potential to redress power imbalances. However, we caution against policy taking this for granted and argue that more consideration of the influence of different forms of power is needed.     

The Centrality of Non-traditional Groups for Security in the Globalized Era: The Case of Children

The globalized security situation characterized by transnational threats and international interventionism in "new wars," connect non traditional local actors and traditional global actors to one another in unprecedented ways. We argue that children in particular need to be highlighted because they are highly pertinent to the globalized security situation, yet they make up one of the few agents that have remained non-politicized in the eyes of the scholarly community. The article suggests a framework of analysis that can generate analyses on security of traditional as well as non-traditional agents. Placing non-traditional groups in the center of attention serves to mirror the complexities of the current security situation better.     

The mobilization of computerized crime mapping: a randomized controlled trial

Journal of Experimental Criminology - To develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a decentralized, smartphone-based crime mapping and analysis tool designed for law enforcement officers working in...     

The mental health and substance misuse needs of male ex-armed forces personnel in prison

Ex-armed forces personnel constitute the largest known occupational group in prison but there is little evidence regarding their mental health, or substance misuse, needs. A total of 105 participants were interviewed and measures assessing symptoms of common mental health (CMH) problems and substance misuse were completed along with a review of their health care records. Forty (38%) participants screened for current CMH problems (CCMH) and high levels of dual symptomology and alcohol misuse were assessed. Thirty-nine (37%) had a mental health diagnosis recorded, most commonly for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and personality disorder. Those who screened for a CCMH problem were more likely to have pre-service vulnerability to negative health outcomes and those with dual symptomology were more likely to have experienced deployment during their service. Findings suggest the mental health needs of this group are similar to the general prison population. Potentially higher prevalences of PTSD and alcohol misuse may direct service provision.     

Gaze patterns to child figures reflect deviant sexual preference in child sex offenders—a first glance

Abstract

Research on non-offending heterosexual participants has indicated that men's gaze allocation reflects their sexual preference. In this exploratory pilot study we investigated whether naturalistic gaze behaviour is sensitive to deviant sexual preferences. We compared gaze patterns of convicted heterosexual child sex offenders (CSOs; n = 13) with female victims to heterosexual non-offending men (n = 13) in a task of free-viewing images of clothed male and female figures aged 10, 20 and 40 years. CSOs dedicated more fixations to the upper body of the female child than male child figures. The pattern was different for the control sample, whose gaze pattern to male and female figures could only be differentiated when viewing adult figures. CSOs showed significantly greater difference in their gaze towards the upper body of male and female children than non-offenders. Our findings provide preliminary evidence for eye-tracking as a potential method of assessing deviant sexual interest.     

Beyond the Goods/Resources Dichotomy: Animal Labor and Trade Law

Abstract

Since its inception, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has, in a rather self-evident manner, treated animals as objects of trade: Animals must be either goods or natural resources subject to the terms and conditions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). However, broader public and legal efforts to recategorize animals from goods to “sentient beings,” which are emerging across the world, are casting serious doubt on these assumptions. Using animals’ subjectivity as a starting point, a new and bourgeoning strand of anthropological, ethical, and political studies argues that animals should properly be recognized as working subjects. Be it guide dogs, truffle hogs, logging elephants, or dairy cows—working animals, they argue, are owed wholly new legal and ethical duties. This article builds on these arguments to examine the consequences of “animal labor” for trade law: Are animals wrongly classified as commodities or resources? Is there a need and room to recognize animals as service providers under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)? What are the legal consequences of this proposed change? This article sets out to answer these questions and argues that recognizing animals as workers in trade law is conceptually coherent and can play a crucial role in empowering states to protect animals effectively at the international level.