Australian Federal Police seizures of illicit crystalline methamphetamine ('ice') 1998-2002: impurity analysis

Nineteen crystalline methamphetamine ('ice') seizures captured by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) at the Australian border between 1998 and 2002 were analysed. Using a modified gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) impurity profiling approach of these samples we have identified >30 compounds associated with methamphetamine and/or its synthetic route. Major impurities detected include 1,2-dimethyl-3-phenylaziridine 8, dimethylamphetamine 14, N-formylmethamphetamine 24, N-acetylmethamphetamine 25, 1,3-dimethyl-2-phenylnaphthalene 32, 1-benzyl-3-methylnaphthalene 33 and methamphetamine dimer 34. These data are suggestive of ephedrine/pseudoephedrine as the main precursor of the 'ice' samples seized during 1998-2002. Additionally the two naphthalenes 32 and 33 further identified that 15 items in 9 seizures were produced via the more specific ephedrine/hydriodic acid/red phosphorus method. One sample comprised 75% dimethylamphetamine and 9.7% methamphetamine, representing the first Australian seizure of imported dimethylamphetamine reported.     

Mixed Messages: Parental Responsibilities, Public Opinion and the Reforms of Family Law

This article explores some issues arising when updating familylaw to keep pace with changes in family practices and values,in particular with changing patterns of parenting. It considersthe extension of parental rights and responsibilities beyondthe conventional boundaries of family law – to unmarriedfathers, step-parents and grandparents – with referenceto four different roles of family law. These roles are: protectingchildren, resolving disputes, regulating family life and promotingfamily norms. The article takes as an example of legal reformthe recently enacted Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006, which extendsparental rights and responsibilities to unmarried fathers whojointly register the child’s birth; but not to step-parentsor grandparents. The mixed messages that this reform conveysare considered in relation to the latest evidence of publicopinion in Scotland about parental obligations and the extentto which they align with public opinion on these issues.     

Establishing safe injection facilities in Canada: legal and ethical issues

In the face of an ongoing and escalating health crisis among injection drug users in Canada, calls are coming from many quarters to initiate safe injection facilities as a way to reduce overdoses, the spread of bloodborne diseases, and other health and community problems associated with injection drug use. This article summarizes a paper on safe injection facilities released in early 2002 by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. The paper contributes to the policy discussion in Canada and sets out why and how the law should support the introduction of safe injection facilities.     

Ecstasy (MDMA) deaths in New York City: a case series and review of the literature

MDMA ("ecstasy") has gained renewed popularity as a drug of abuse. To access the epidemiology and causes of death of MDMA-positive fatalities, all deaths investigated by the OCME that tested positive for MDMA (22 deaths) between January 1997 and June 2000 were reviewed. There were three deaths in each 1997 and 1998, eleven in 1999, and five in the first part of 2000. Of these 22 deaths, 13 were due to acute drug intoxications, 7 due to mechanical injury (blunt trauma, gunshot wounds), and 2 due to a combination of natural disease and acute drug intoxication. Evidence of recent opiate and/or cocaine use was found in 7 of the acute intoxication deaths and in none of the traumatic or combination natural/intoxication deaths. The race of all decedents was White between the ages of 17-41 years, and 18 of 22 were men.     

Interpreting small quantities of DNA: the hierarchy of propositions and the use of Bayesian networks

The dramatic increase in the sensitivity of DNA profiling systems that has occurred over recent years has led to the need to address a wider range of interpretational problems in forensic science. The issues surrounding questions of the kind "whose DNA is this?" have been the subject of considerable controversy but now it is clear that the emphasis is shifting to questions of the kind "how did this DNA get here?" Such issues are discussed in this paper and new insights are provided by two particular recent developments. First, the notion of the "hierarchy of propositions" that has arisen from a project called Case Assessment and Interpretation (CAI) that has been running in the British Forensic Science Service (FSS). Second, a technique for drawing inferences in the face of many interacting considerations, known as "Bayesian networks"--or "Bayes' nets" for short--that has been the subject of an earlier paper in this journal (1). The discussion is carried out by means of case studies, based on actual cases. It is clear that, whereas the inference in relation to the source of the DNA in a crime sample might be overwhelmingly strong, the inference in relation to the propositions that a jury must consider relating to the identity of the actual offender may be much more tentative.     

Electoral volatility: Issue effects and basic change in 23 post-war democracies

Growing differences between party votes in successive elections have raised the possibility that party systems are undergoing fundamental change. This cannot be settled until aggregate vote differences are separated into those normally produced by new issues and candidates, and those reflecting an erosion of core support. A saliency theory of party competition and electoral response is used to quantify net shifts in voting produced by issues identified on the basis of campaign reports. Estimates are validated by comparison with others produced on different assumptions and through their success in predicting election results in ten countries. By ‘controlling’ these issue effects we can estimate Basic Votes for each party and election and see whether they have changed.