Concentration of drugs in blood of suspected impaired drivers

Analytical records concerning 440 living drivers suspected of driving under the influence of drug (DUID) were collected and examined during a 2 years period ranging from 2002 to 2003 in canton de Vaud, Valais, Jura and Fribourg (Switzerland). This study included 400 men (91%) and 40 women (9%). The average age of the drivers was 28+/-10 years (minimum 16 and maximum 81). One or more psychoactive drugs were found in 89% of blood samples. Half of cases (223 of 440, 50.7%) involved consumption of mixtures (from 2 to 6) of psychoactive drugs. The most commonly detected drugs in whole blood were cannabinoids (59%), ethanol (46%), benzodiazepines (13%), cocaine (13%), amphetamines (9%), opiates (9%) and methadone (7%). Among these 440 cases, 11-carboxy-THC (THCCOOH) was found in 59% (median 25 ng/ml (1-215 ng/ml)), Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in 53% (median 3 ng/ml (1-35 ng/ml)), ethanol in 46% (median 1.19 g/kg (0.14-2.95 g/kg)), benzoylecgonine in 13% (median 250 ng/ml (29-2430 ng/ml)), free morphine in 7% (median 10 ng/ml (1-111 ng/ml)), methadone in 7% (median 110 ng/ml (27-850 ng/ml)), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in 6% (median 218 ng/ml (10-2480 ng/ml)), nordiazepam in 5% (median 305 ng/ml (30-1560 ng/ml)), free codeine in 5% (median 5 ng/ml (1-13 ng/ml)), midazolam in 5% (median 44 ng/ml (20-250 ng/ml)), cocaine in 5% (median 50 ng/ml (15-560 ng/ml)), amphetamine in 4% (median 54 ng/ml (10-183 ng/ml)), diazepam in 2% (median 200 ng/ml (80-630 ng/ml)) and oxazepam in 2% (median 230 ng/ml (165-3830 ng/ml)). Other drugs, such as lorazepam, zolpidem, mirtazapine, methaqualone, were found in less than 1% of the cases.     

Pay for politicians and campaign spending: evidence from the French municipal elections

Public Choice - This paper investigates the relationship between taxation and firm performance in developing countries. Combining firm-level data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys and tax data...     

Effect of food insecurity on food purchases at home

Previous research has established a relationship between income and food security. In this article, we examine the effect of food security on food purchases, specifically on five food‐at‐home groups. Using a set of Tobit models, and after controlling for a set of confounding factors, we show that food security perception leads to the purchase of fruit and vegetables, meats and eggs, and dairy products while decreasing the purchase of fat and carbohydrates. However, we cannot be certain of the actual nutritional effect.     

How Social Media Splits the Global Conversation

A disconnect has emerged between authority and influence, between the established platforms of informed public debate and the new dominance of social media.     

Extensive Necrotic Purpura in Levamisole‐Adulterated Cocaine Abuse – A Case Report

Levamisole, which is used as an adulterated compound of cocaine, is currently being seen year after year in cocaine intoxication. For a few cases in the last decade, necrotic purpura and neutropenia after levamisole/cocaine intoxication have been described in the medical community. Herein, we present an original case of levamisole intoxication of a 40‐year‐old woman who smoked heroin and cocaine few during a month. She rapidly presented an extensive necrotic purpura of the nose, cheeks and extremities (lower and upper), and immunologic reactions (positive anti‐MPO and anti‐HNE). Levamisole was detected on hairs with ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. The case reports also a probable cocaine supplier deceit, which bring pure drug for hospital investigation after the intoxication of his client. The intoxicated woman had survived with several skin and chronic pain complications. That case recalls the knowledge about levamisole with a short review of the forensic literature.