The Psilocin (4-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine) and Bufotenine (5-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine) Case: Ensuring the Correct Isomer has Been Identified

Psilocin (4-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine, 4-HO-DMT) and bufotenine (5-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine, 5-HO-DMT), which are both naturally occurring compounds, are classified as controlled substances in numerous countries due to their pharmacological activities and recreational usage. There are two other benzene ring regioisomers, 6-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (6-HO-DMT) and 7-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (7-HO-DMT), which are not classified by name as controlled substances, and which were synthesized for this current work. The four isomers were analyzed using routine methodologies employed by the Israel's Police Division of Identification and Forensic Science (DIFS) Laboratory, namely thin layer chromatography (TLC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). It was found possible to differentiate the four isomers. Forensic specimens that were suspected to be psilocybe mushrooms were examined, confirming that it is now possible to unequivocally identify the presence of psilocin and rule out the presence of its other isomers.     

The Economy Effect: Conceptual Innovation and Benefit Corporations

What kind of thing is the economy, and how might we act to change it? This article draws on the work of Timothy Mitchell and J. K. Gibson-Graham to suggest that the economy may be fruitfully understood as a structural effect, or an appearance of difference maintained through the repetition of acts and practices. It then employs Reinhart Koselleck’s theory of conceptual change to argue that the economy effect may be altered through efforts aimed at conceptual innovation. If the economy effect is maintained through repeated acts and practices that delineate the distinction between the economy and everything else, then conceptual innovation with respect to those concepts that inform these acts and practices could alter the manner in which this distinction is produced. The benefit (or public interest) corporation serves as an example of how such efforts at conceptual innovation might produce change in the structural effect that we call “the economy.”     

Conflict reconsidered: The boomerang effect of depoliticization in the policy process

This article argues that the efforts of policy‐makers to avoid conflict in the short run can be counterproductive in the long run. Not only may policy‐makers fail to reap the benefits of conflicts when they try to steer clear, but conflict may actually increase rather than diminish. We study conflict through the conceptual lens of (de)politicization in the lengthy and highly contested policy‐making process over the multibillion‐euro ‘Oosterweelconnection’ highway in Antwerp (Belgium). An in‐depth media analysis of 739 articles is combined with data from 32 narrative interviews. We conclude that efforts to end public debate through depoliticization can have a boomerang effect, in which conflict disappears only temporarily, and that these efforts can ultimately increase conflict while wasting engagement and creativity. More attention to the productive aspects of conflict is needed in public administration literature and practice.     

Die deutsche Föderalismusreform — von außen betrachtet. Ein Vergleich von Systemproblemen des deutschen und des schweizerischen Föderalismus

Ohne Zusammenfassung Ich danke meiner Mitarbeiterin Andrea Iff für ihren eigenen Diskussionsbeitrag zum Thema, von dem ich viel gelernt habe, sowie Adrian Vatter und Stephan Heichel (Universit?t Konstanz) für kritische Kommentare.     

Federal Goverment Credit Program: Privatization Through Loan Sales

Privatization by sale of governmental financial assets provides a means to achieve program goals but does not preclude continued policy involvement. By loan guarantees the government has already privatized some aspects of its credit programs. Issues raised by loan sales differ from those concerning capital assets.     

One hundred seventy two deaths involving the use of oxycodone in Palm Beach County

Oxycodone is a potent semi-synthetic narcotic prescribed for the management of pain. Previous investigators have reported that the abuse of oxycodone is most frequently seen in conjunction with the abuse of other drugs, although fatalities have been reported with oxycodone alone. We undertook a retrospective review of cases investigated by the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office in which postmortem toxicologic studies indicated the presence of oxycodone. A total of 172 consecutive cases were studied, including 18 in which death was attributed to oxycodone toxicity, 117 to combined drug toxicity, 23 to trauma, 9 to natural causes and 5 to another drug or drugs. The postmortem blood concentrations of oxycodone overlapped among the groups. The mean blood oxycodone concentration among the cases of oxycodone toxicity was 0.69 mg/L, combined drug toxicity 0.72 mg/L and trauma 0.62 mg/L. Concentrations were lower in cases of deaths attributed to natural causes and to another drug or drugs (mean each 0.087 mg/L). Benzodiazepines, detected in 96 cases, were the most common co-intoxicants in the cases of combined drug toxicity, followed by cocaine, which was found in 41. The most frequently encountered benzodiazepine was alprazolam. This study confirms that deaths in which oxycodone is a factor are most commonly cases of combined drug toxicity. The high incidence of alprazolam as a co-intoxicant has not been previously recognized.     

Incorporating Equity into International Water Agreements

River basins have provided resources for the advancement of human civilization from the earliest historic times. With river basin development has also come conflict, particularly in the past century. In response, the international community has developed generalized, global principles for the equitable allocation of water resources between nation-states, most notably through the 1997 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses. These principles, however, have rarely been explicitly put into practice. To resolve or avert conflict in the world's 261 international river basins, riparian nations have instead relied upon treaties that incorporate basin-specific needs and conditions and define equity at the most local level. An examination of the progression of geographic thought on river basin development reveals a spatial focus that has not evolved beyond the basin and landscape scales. The absence of theoretical underpinnings for global frameworks may explain why riparian nations have not widely adopted general principles for the equitable allocation of water resources in actual treaty practice.