Illicit payments for illicit goods: noncontact drug distribution on Russian online drug marketplaces

The distribution or consumption of traditional drugs has become the subject of stringent penalties throughout most of the world and synthetic designer drugs have become the alternative. Novel psychoactive substances, also called ‘legal highs’, are highly varied in terms of chemical composition. These substances are advertised and distributed as an alternative to traditional drugs on the Internet, making identification of new substances and enforcement difficult. For this article, we downloaded and analysed 28 Russian-language online drug marketplaces which distribute traditional and novel psychoactive substances. All marketplaces used a noncontact drug dealing method where the seller and the buyer communicate through the Internet to arrange for payment and delivery of drugs without meeting face-to-face. Geographic information, price, amount, substance type and payment method data were extracted. Findings indicate such marketplaces are able to operate due to the ability of their clients to pay anonymously with the virtual currencies – Qiwi and Bitcoin.     

Foreigners Dying in Istanbul

Abstract:  The study included 411 deaths selected from 14,647 medicolegal deaths autopsied in the Morgue Department of Forensic Medicine Institute Directorate, affiliated with the Ministry of Justice, between 1998 and 2002. Data were collected from court documents, coroner's investigation reports, and autopsy reports. The parameters of age, gender, nationality and origin, cause and place of death in foreigners dying in Istanbul were evaluated in the study. Out of 14,647 medicolegal deaths, 3.5% were foreigners from 34 different nationalities. The nationality with the highest rate of foreigner deaths (34%) was Romanian. Out of 411 deaths, 74.3% were male and 25.7% were female. Of all cases, 64.4% were tourists visiting Istanbul and 35.6% had a job in Istanbul. Of 146 foreigners employed in Istanbul, 94.5% did not have a work permit, while only 5.5% had a work permit.     

Excessive Uniformity in Federal Drug Sentencing

The ideal of fair and proportionate punishment was a major impetus for federal sentencing reform. Observers of the current federal drug sentencing regime contend that the sentencing guidelines and mandatory minimums lead to the problem of “excessive uniformity” in which offenders of widely differing culpability receive similar sentences due to the dominance of drug quantity as a sentencing factor. This study investigates this phenomenon using the 1997 Survey of Inmates in Federal Correctional Facilities. Controlling for relevant offense, offender, and case processing variables, the analysis finds that the quantity-driven sentencing fails to account for important differences in offender culpability—resulting in excessively uniform sentences for offenders with highly dissimilar roles in the offense. The main policy implication of this research is that the central, organizing role of drug quantity in federal drug sentencing needs to be rethought. Indeed, effectively dealing with the problem of excessive uniformity will likely require the wholesale restructuring of how federal sentences for drug offenders are determined.

药品说明缺陷的法律分析

文章根据产品责任法理论阐述了药品缺陷的含义以及我国对药品说明的有关规定;并根据药品的特殊性,深入分析了药品说明缺陷的判断因素,以及认定药品说明缺陷的注意问题,有助于药品生产者、经营者、医师、药师等在产品和医疗服务中规范行事。提出在司法实践中,要确认生产者、销售者或医师是否存在说明缺陷,应对药品的说明对象、说明方式以及说明时间、说明的充分性以及对明显或众所周知的危险进行警告等方面进行综合考虑评估。     

论禁毒情报调研的特点及方式

禁毒情报工作具有对象特定、内容复杂、范围广泛、任务长期等特点,所获情报具有本质性、宏观性、专题性和预测性等特点;一般来说,禁毒情报调研的方式主要有典型调查法、普遍调查法和抽样调查法等     

Oral fluid drug tests: Effects of adulterants and foodstuffs

An on-site oral fluid drug screen, Oratect^®, was used to investigate the effects of adulterants and foodstuffs on oral fluid test results. Common foods, beverages, food ingredients, cosmetics and hygienic products were demonstrated not to cause false positive results when tested 30 min after their consumption. Evaluations of two commercial oral fluid adulterants, “Clear Choice^® Fizzy Flush™” and “Test’in™ Spit n Kleen Mouthwash” suggest their mechanism of action is the clearing of residual drugs of abuse compounds through rinsing of the oral cavity. They do not directly destroy the drug compounds or change the pH of the oral fluid. It is also suggested that a common mouthwash would perform similar action.     

关于云南禁毒对策的思考

云南省特殊的地缘环境 ,决定了其成为中国禁毒斗争的最前沿和主战场。云南禁毒工作成效的好与坏 ,将直接关系到全省乃至全国的社会稳定、经济发展、民族团结 ,周边国家的睦邻友好及国民的生命健康 ;关系到中国禁绝毒品总目标的实现。面对严峻的毒品形势 ,要在禁毒方针的指导下 ,切实树立“大禁毒”观 ,充分动员和发挥全社会的整体力量 ,打一场现代禁毒的人民战争 ,直至彻底根除毒品     

论创建“无毒社区”是禁毒的有效途径

临沧地区由于其特殊的地理环境 ,首当其冲成为全省乃至全国禁毒斗争的重要前沿阵地。针对临沧地区周边境内外毒情 ,提出创建“无毒社区”是禁毒斗争行之有效的途径。具体措施 :1、层层落实禁毒工作责任制 ;2、制定方案 ,广泛宣传 ;3、调查研究 ,掌握情况 ;4、抓住重点 ,全面进行 ;5、狠抓帮教 ,降低复吸 ;6、采取有力措施 ,禁绝毒源     

毒品案件侦查模拟实战教学研究

我们在《毒品案件侦查模拟、实战教学》的课题研究中 ,对学校实施的模拟教学、实战教学、案例教学、讨论、讲座等多种方式进行了跟踪调查 ,分别对毒品案件侦查中的“公开查辑、控制下交付、徒步跟踪、搜查、辨认”等实践性极强的内容作了深入研究和新的尝试。在我们的课题研究中 ,解决了一些问题 ,也发现了不少新问题。     

Pholcodine interference in the immunoassay for opiates in urine

The excretion in urine after single oral therapeutic doses of morphine derivatives was analysed with radioimmunoassay (RIA) and homogeneous enzyme immunoassay (EMIT) for opiates. In contrast to the rapid excretion of ethylmorphine and codeine, pholcodine showed positive results for opiates 2-6 weeks after intake when the urines were analysed with the RIA-method. When analysed with the EMIT-method, positive results were obtained for pholcodine for approximately 10 days. As pholcodine is a common component in cough mixtures, its prolonged excretion could represent a hazard in interpreting the results from drug analyses of urines.