Narco-Terrorism: The Merger of the War on Drugs and the War on Terror

The aim of this article is to analyse the phenomena of narco-terrorism and the practical measures utilised to counter this threat. By adopting the model of the crime-terror continuum developed by Tamara Makarenko, the article will outline the similarities and dissimilarities of narcotics trafficking and terrorism in order to provide a more nuanced perspective on the concept of narco-terrorism. By doing so, the article will evaluate the kind of approach taken in combating the threat of narco-terrorism.     

我国学校毒品预防教育存在问题及其对策

目前,我国学校毒品预防教育仍存在着形式主义明显、教育方式不当、教育内容脱离实际、教育实效性不高、高校毒品预防教育薄弱等问题。为此,需采取以下对策:提高认识,加强领导;多种形式建设师资;加大政府投入,多渠道募集资金;编撰统一教材;保证课堂教学时间;完善责任机制和考核机制;将学校毒品预防教育与心理健康教育、生活技能教育、同伴教育、其他学科教学、网络技术、教育科研、家庭教育、社会教育等形式结合,拓宽学校毒品预防教育途径。     

Comparative Analysis of the Chemical Profiles of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine Based on Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (GC × GC-TOFMS)*

Abstract: The chemical profiling of illicit drugs is an important analytical tool to support the work of investigating and law enforcement authorities. In our work, comprehensive two‐dimensional gas chromatography–time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC‐TOFMS) combined with nontargeted, pixel‐based data analysis was adapted for the chemical profiling of 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). The validity and benefit of this approach was evaluated by analyzing a well‐investigated set of MDMA samples. Samples were prepared according to a harmonized extraction protocol to ensure the comparability of the chemical signatures. The nontargeted approach comprises preprocessing followed by analysis of variances as a fast filter algorithm for selection of a variable subset followed by partial least squares discriminant analysis for reduction to promising marker compounds for discrimination of the samples according to their chemical profile. Forty‐seven potential marker compounds were determined, covering most of the target impurities known from the harmonized one‐dimensional profiling as well as other compounds not previously elucidated.     

Rapid in situ repeatable analysis of drugs in powder form using reflectance near-infrared spectroscopy and multivariate calibration

This study takes the first step toward in situ analysis of powder drugs which does not require any alteration of the samples. A fast, inexpensive analytical method based on reflectance near-infrared (NIR) spectrometry and multivariate calibration was applied. A diode-array fiber-optic portable spectrometer in the 900-1700 nm range was employed. Samples were laboratory-prepared ternary powders (diacetylmorphine, caffeine, and paracetamol). Partial least squares regression was applied. The choice of the standard samples for calibration and validation was performed through a D-optimal experimental design. The explained variance was higher than 90%, and the relative root mean square errors were <2%. The number of principal components (6) was very low when compared with the number of raw variables (356 absorbance values). Response plots showed slopes and intercepts were very close to optimal values. Correlation coefficients ranged between 0.909 and 0.989. The method here proposed proved to be competitive with Fourier transform NIR spectrometry.     

苯丙胺类兴奋剂β酮策划药代谢途径的研究进展

近年来,苯丙胺类兴奋剂的β酮(bK)策划药相继在许多国家的毒品市场中出现,由于该类物质潜在的依赖性和已经导致的死亡事件,许多国家已经将其列为管制的物质。本文介绍了通过GC/MS和LC/MS方法对苯丙胺类兴奋剂的衍生物4-甲基甲卡西酮、bk-MDMA、bk-MBDB和bk-MDEA检测的相关研究结果,以说明其主要代谢途径。以期为临床医学、法庭毒理学以及禁毒机构监控该类物质提供参考。     

The forgotten success story: Japan and the methamphetamine problem

This paper examines Japan's policy towards methamphetamine (Japanese: hiropon). Opium has been used in Japan for medicinal purposes since 1722. However, it was strictly controlled. The result was that drug abuse was minuscule. This changed with the introduction of methamphetamine. During the Second World War hiropon was given by the military to fighter pilots and the signal corps in order to help them stay awake and alert. After 1945, the large military stockpiles of methamphetamine found their way onto the black market. With society in chaos, drug abuse spread rapidly and a hiropon epidemic emerged. The introduction of a comprehensive anti-drug package in the mid-1950s, including stricter laws, resulted in that abuse having been almost totally eradicated by 1957. Around 1970 a new wave of abuse (‘the second epidemic’) began. It peaked around 1985, after which abuse tampered off, albeit slowly. A temporary increase in the mid-1990s made Japanese authorities declare the emergence of ‘the third epidemic’ that is still said to be ongoing. Official statistics show, however, that Japan has not seen any such epidemic. In comparison with most other Western countries, methamphetamine abuse in Japan is modest.     

Rapid screening for the detection and differentiation of γ-hydroxybutyrate using ion chromatography

The analysis of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) is problematic because it is hygroscopic, it lacks a good UV chromophore, and it undergoes heat-induced cyclization. This paper presents a new method utilizing ion-exchange chromatography (IC) with conductivity detection. The simple sample preparation, rapid analysis time, and inorganic anion detection capabilities are all advantages over the current methods. The detection of inorganic salts (formed during GHB synthesis) gives insight into the synthetic route utilized and can aid in drug seizure comparison. The developed method has a detection limit for GHB anions of 0.57 mg/L and chloride of 0.22 mg/L. A comparison of this technique with a current gas chromatography-mass spectrometry technique is presented, and a t-test found that the two methods' results are not statistically different at the 99.9% confidence level demonstrating the merits of this fast, simple, and informative IC method as a routine screening tool.     

新型毒品滥用与反社会人格——一个犯罪心理学的透视

如果从犯罪心理学的视角,分析新型毒品滥用群体的人格特征,结合考察新型毒品与传统毒品之间的区别,则不难发现,新型毒品的心理依赖性背后,事实上反应了吸毒者群体中一种共性人格特征;而这种共性人格特征实际又与反社会人格障碍之间有着千丝万缕的联系,其深层原因,在于新型毒品对于反社会人格障碍者而言,是一种释放自身被规范所压抑的人格的最具吸引力,且最少责任的媒介。这就为我们提供了一条矫治新型毒品滥用者的新思路。     

利用现代物证分析技术推断毒品的来源

利用现代物证分析技术推断毒品的来源,是侦查毒品案件的客观要求,对打击毒品犯罪具有重大意义。随着气相色谱同 位素比值质谱、电感耦合等离子体质谱等现代分析技术的出现,使得我们利用现代物证分析技术推断毒品来源成为可能。     

Capillary electrophoresis: a new tool in forensic toxicology. Applications and prospects in hair analysis for illicit drugs

Capillary electrophoresis, the modern approach to instrumental electrophoresis, is probably the most rapidly expanding analytical technique that has appeared in recent years. In the hands of forensic toxicologists, capillary electrophoresis (CE) represents a powerful new analytical tool, which has proved suitable for the investigation of illicit drugs in seized preparations and also in complex biological matrices, among which is hair. CE can be applied according to different separation mechanisms, and among those that are toxicologically relevant are capillary zone electrophoresis and micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography, which display different selectivities. For the investigation of hair for drugs of abuse, capillary electrophoresis proved effective, providing simultaneous determinations of different drugs without derivatization, with acceptable sensitivity (typically better than 1 ng of drug per mg of hair). The possibility of carrying out determinations of the same analytes, based on different separation mechanisms (capillary zone electrophoresis and micellar electrokinetic chromatography) with the same instrumentation, simply changing the buffer composition, provides an interesting possibility of ‘internal’ confirmation of the results.