CRI023: Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology

Module #4: Student Activity Sheet

Lesson title: Forensic Drug Analysis Materials:

References:
Learning Targets: https://www.drugs.ie/drugs_info/about_dr
At the end of the module, students will be able to; ugs/the_nature_and_states_of_drug_use/

1. define and discuss Physiology of drugs, Drug Test and https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articl

specimen Tampering, and es/323378#procedure-and-types-of-urine-
test
2. differentiate Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Drug
Specimen. https://www.yourdrugtesting.com/drug-
test-tampering/

A. LESSON PREVIEW/REVIEW
Introduction
Hi! It’s good you’re a back, are you excited for today’s lesson? Before we continue the discussion, let us
review first your understanding of the last lesson, below are questions regarding that, please answer it. Kindly
answer the succeeding activities. Through this you will be able to know your prior knowledge about the lesson.

Direction: Answer the question below; be ready, the teacher/facilitator might call you to share your answer to
the class.

1. What would you do if one of your loved ones explore the use of dangerous drugs?

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IAfter answering that, we can now proceed for the next lesson, which is the forensic drug analysis.

B. MAIN LESSON
Directions. In this activity, you need to read and underline or highlight keywords for you to keep in mind some
essential terms/words used in the content notes; this will help you remember facts or theories and make the
learning session more meaningful. You may also do note-taking for your easy access to the information.

PHYSIOLOGY OF DRUGS
We need to look at three critical factors if we are to understand why and how people use drugs. These are:
 Your personality, the type of drug you take, and The context of your drug use.

These factors are connected and can’t be separated. They influence your reasons for using a drug and the
effects it will have on you. We need to understand that there are different levels of drug use with different
types of problems.

Stages of drug use

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 CRI023: Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology
Module #4: Student Activity Sheet

DRUG TEST

A drug test looks for the

presence of one or more illegal or prescription drugs in your urine, blood, saliva, hair, or sweat. Urine testing
is the most common type of drug screening. Drug screening is used to find out whether or not a person has
taken a particular drug or drugs. It may be used for:

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 CRI023: Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology
Module #4: Student Activity Sheet

A drug test generally requires that you give a urine sample in a lab. You will be given instructions to
provide a "clean-catch" sample. The clean-catch method includes the following steps:
1. Wash your hands
2. Clean your genital area with a cleansing pad given to you by your provider. Men should wipe the tip
of their penis. Women should open their labia and clean from front to back.
3. Start to urinate into the toilet.
4. Move the collection container under your urine stream.
5. Collect at least an ounce or two of urine into the container, which should have markings to indicate
the amounts.
6. Finish urinating into the toilet.
7. Return the sample container to the lab technician or health care provider.

A doctor or trained technician will usually carry out the urine drug screen. There are two types of urine
drug screens, and both require a sample.
 An immunoassay (IA) test is the most common type because it is the quickest and most cost-
effective. However, it can give a false-positive result. These show the presence of a drug when a
person has not used it.

 The second type of urine screen can confirm the results of an IA test. The second test is called gas
chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). GC-MS is a more reliable method of screening
than IA. It can also detect a broader range of drugs. Usually, providers only use GC-MS tests as
follow-ups because they are more expensive, and the results take longer to receive.

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 CRI023: Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology
Module #4: Student Activity Sheet

SPECIMEN TAMPERING

Fearing a positive result with significant consequences, participants are often willing to go to great
lengths to thwart drug tests. They may embrace creative techniques or attempt to foil the results with new-
fangled technology. Drug test tampering (also known as adulteration) refers to the ingestion of a foreign
substance or the addition of foreign material to a testing specimen to prevent drug use detection.

Common Tampering Techniques

People attempt to “cheat” or “beat” drug tests in a variety of ways. Common tampering techniques include all
of the following:

 Household Products: To change the urine pH and prevent drug detection, a participant might add a
household cleaning product to the specimen. Popular choices include acid, ammonia, lye, vinegar, and
bleach. These products may interfere with the initial (screening) test.

 Substitution: A participant might substitute a urine specimen with lemonade, soft drinks, sports
drinks, water, or someone else’s urine. Another popular choice for substitution is powdered urine, which
donors mix with water.

 Dilution: To dilute their urine specimen, hoping to mask or destroy evidence of drug use, participants
might consume large quantities of lemonade, soft drinks, sports drinks, or water. Sometimes this happens
unintentionally. A diluted sample does not guarantee a negative test result; the lab will detect the diluted
sample. In some cases, a participant will add a liquid substance directly to the urine specimen.

 Chemical Additives: Some participants add chemicals to the specimen after collection. These include
glutaraldehyde (UrinAid), nitrites (Klear™ Whizzies), chromates (Pyridine, Urine Luck™ Instant Clean
ADD-IT-ive), and halogens. Donors can purchase all of these products online. Glutaraldehyde affects the
drugs tested in the initial (screening) test. Nitrites, chromates, halogens, and other oxidizing adulterants
may negate the initial and confirmatory tests for marijuana and morphine/heroin.

 Prescription Drugs: Some prescription drugs that are non-steroidal and anti-inflammatory will
interfere with the initial (screening) test. For example, Tolectin® can impact a participant’s test results.

QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF DRUG SPECIMEN

 A qualitative test tells you if a particular substance (analyte) is present in the specimen.
 A quantitative test tells you how much (the quantity) of an analyte is present.

After the presence of an analyte has been established (which may involve a second, confirmatory test), the
amount of the analyte present in the sample then may be measured. For example, you could test for the
presence of alcohol in the blood (qualitative) and check for the actual blood alcohol level (quantitative).

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 CRI023: Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology
Module #4: Student Activity Sheet

Check for Understanding (5 mins)

You are doing well! Next, you need to answer the activity below. This will assess your learning
about the lesson.

Directions: Read each question carefully. Write your answer on the space provided before the number.

_________________1. It means that your body craves the drug.

_________________2. This tampering practice happens when a participant substitute a urine specimen with
lemonade, soft drinks, sports drinks, water, or someone else’s urine
_________________3. This test tells you if a particular substance is present in the specimen.
_________________4. It is also known as adulteration, which refers to the ingestion of a foreign substance or
the addition of a foreign substance to a testing specimen, to prevent the detection of drugs used.
_________________5. This test looks for the presence of one or more illegal or prescription drugs in your urine,
blood, saliva, hair, or sweat.
_________________6. Is someone who does not take drugs or has been off drugs for a long time and does not
want to use them again?
_________________7. It is when you feel that you can’t cope without the intake of drugs
_________________8. In this stage of drug exposure, a person uses drugs for fun.
_________________9. This test tells you how much of an analyte is present in the specimen.
_________________10. It is the most common test for drug screening.

Check your answers against the Key to Corrections found at the end of this SAS. Write your score on
your paper.

C. LESSON WRAP-UP
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Since we know you have questions about this lesson, we write 2 items and answer it on your behalf so it
will be clear to you. Please read the following questions and the corresponding answers to it.

Question 1. Why do people tamper specimen for a drug test?

Answer: Most likely, people tamper specimens because of the fear that traces of drugs would appear in the test
and jeopardize their purpose since, most of the time, they underwent drug tests for employment purposes. While
most people do that for employment, some were afraid of detention, especially when drug users and pushers are
in a critical situation because of the government’s war on drugs.

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 CRI023: Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology
Module #4: Student Activity Sheet

Question 2. What would possibly happen when a person suddenly stop the usage of drugs?

Answer: No one can beat drugs in an instant, and if a person suddenly stops using drugs to be sober, he or she
will experience withdrawal syndrome symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms are any abnormal physical or
psychological features that follow the abrupt discontinuation of a drug that has the capability of producing
physical dependence. These symptoms include chills, sweats, fevers, and muscle cramps.

Thinking about Learning (5 mins)

A). My Learning Tracker

As part of the learning tracker, we prepared some questions for you to reflect on, please carefully read
the question below and give your honest answer.

Did you have challenges in today’s learning? How did you overcome those challenges?

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What surprised you about the lesson today?

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Job well done; You have reached the end of this lesson.

KEY TO CORRECTIONS

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING

1. Physical Dependence
2. Substitution
3. Qualitative Test
4. Specimen Tampering
5. Drug Test
6. Abstainer
7. Psychological Dependence
8. Recreational Drug Use
9. Quantitative Test
10. Urine Test

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 CRI023: Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology
Module #4: Student Activity Sheet

LABORATORY ACTIVITY #4: Forensic Drug Analysis Materials:

Learning Targets: References:

At the end of the module, students will be able to; https://www.drugs.ie/drugs_info/about_dr
ugs/the_nature_and_states_of_drug_use/
1. familiarize on the different forensic drug testing,
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articl
2. explain the effects of prohibited drugs in human body, and es/323378#procedure-and-types-of-urine-
test
3. interpret the Forensic drug examination by answering the
activity provided. https://www.yourdrugtesting.com/drug-
test-tampering/

INTRODUCTION

Forensic labs are often called in to identify unknown powders, liquids and pills that may be illicit drugs.
There are basically two categories of forensic tests used to analyze drugs and other unknown substances:
Presumptive tests (such as color tests) give only an indication of which type of substance is present – but they
can’t specially identify the substance. Confirmatory tests (such as gas chromatography/mass spectrometry) are
more specific and can determine the precise identity of the substance. Confirmatory tests (such as gas
chromatography/mass spectrometry) are more specific and can determine the precise identity of the substance.

Color tests expose an unknown drug to a chemical or mixture of chemicals. What color the test
substance turns can help determine the type of drug that’s present. Here are a few examples of color tests:

Type of Test Chemical Reagent Interpretation of Results

Marquis Color Formaldehyde and concentrated sulfuric Heroin, morphine and most opium-based
acid drugs will turn the solution purple.
Amphetamines will turn it orange-brown

Cobalt Cobalt thiocyanate, distilled water, Cocaine will turn the solution violet-blue
Thiocyanate glycerine, hydrochloric acid, choloroform

Dillie-Koppanyi Cobalt Acetate and isopropyl amine Barbiturates will turn the solution violet-blue

Van Urk P-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde, LSD will turn the solution blue-purple

hydrocholric acid, ethyl alcohol

Dusquenois- Vanillin, acetaldehyde, ethyl alcohol, Marijuana will turn the solution purple
Levine Test cholorform

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 CRI023: Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology
Module #4: Student Activity Sheet

Activity #1
Directions: Research and complete the table about the following drugs below.

What test should we

Effects of drugs in
Dangerous drugs utilize to have the Color
human body
result?

Opium

Morphine

Barbiturates

Marijuana

Amphetamine

Heroin

Activity# 2

Directions: Analyze the table below, and answer the corresponding questions.
1. Briefly explain the graph above.
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2. If you are an administrator, will you be alarmed about the data? Why or why not? Prove your point.
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 CRI023: Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology
Module #4: Student Activity Sheet

3. What are things that you will suggest in improving the data obtained?
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Activity #3 Negative Testing

Directions: Before we coduct presumptive tests, we are assumed to know the difference between these
substances just by seeing or touching them, but without tampering with the evidence or the crime scene. In this
activity, try to identify physical properties of the substances with just your senses, excluding your sense of
tasting, hearing and smelling. Then use the microscope to have deep observationon them. Write your findings to
the table provided below.
Substance Appearance Texture
Unscented Tawas

Pulverized Artificial Fertilizer

Iodized Salt

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 CRI023: Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology
Module #4: Student Activity Sheet

Under the Microscope

Directions: Observe the substances provided above and compare them to the image of abused drugs provided
online. You may check the list through this link (Drugs Under The Microscope - Pop Culture Gallery |
eBaum's World (ebaumsworld.com))or by scanning the QR code below. Write the differences between them
and the drugs afterwards.

Chemicals Observation Difference to Cocaine Diffeence to Heroin

Unscented Tawas

Pulverized Artificial
Fertilizer

Iodized Salt

Attach the images you’ve taken from the substances under the
microscope in the space below.

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 CRI023: Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology
Module #4: Student Activity Sheet

Activity #3.1 ColorTesting

Directions: In order to find positive result, one must submit drugs of the same classification and effects into
proper test, and since bringing and even possesing illegal drugs is punishable by law, we cannot do sample
testing on them. Hence, we do presumtive tests to other chemicals, and look for near positive, false positive and
even negative results. Used different color test to the chemicals as listed in the table and tally your result, finally
write the reason for that kind of result.

Chemical Presumptive Test Results Reason

1. Unscented Tawas Cobalt Thiocyanate

Marqui color

Dillie-Koppanyi

Van Urk

2. Pulverized artificial Cobalt Thiocyanate

Fertilizer(14-14-14)

Marqui color

Dillie-Koppanyi

Van Urk

3. Iodized Salt Cobalt Thiocyanate

Marqui color

Dillie-Koppanyi

Van Urk

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 CRI023: Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology
Module #4: Student Activity Sheet

Documentation

Directions: Place pictures of yourself conducting both the observation and presumptive tests in the space
provided below. You may use extra paper if needed.

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 CRI023: Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology
Module #4: Student Activity Sheet

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