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CHAPTER IV: ADMINISTRATION AND METABOLISM OF DRUGS

What is Administer?
Under Republic Act No. 9165, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002,
administer refers to any act of introducing any dangerous drug into the body of any person, with or without
his/her knowledge by injection, inhalation, ingestion, or other means or of committing any act of indispensable
assistance to a person in administering a dangerous drug to himself/ herself unless administered by a duly
licensed practitioner for purposes of medication.

HOW DRUG IS BEING ADMINISTERED/TAKEN

Drugs may be administered by any of the following means:

Oral Ingestion
The drug is taken by the mouth and must pass through the stomach before being absorbed into the
bloodstream. This is one of the most common ways of taking a drug.

Inhalation
A drug in gaseous form enters the lungs and is quickly absorbed by the capillary system. It is probably
the second most commonly used route of drug administration.

Injection
The drug can be administered into the body by the use of a syringe or hypodermic needle in the
following ways:

A. Subcutaneous - a drug is administered by injecting the drug just below the surface of the skin. This is
sometimes called "skin popping".

B. Intramuscular - administration involves the injection of a drug into a large muscle mass that has a
good blood supply, such as the gluteus maximus, quadriceps, or triceps.

C. Intravenous - This is the most efficient means of administration which involves depositing a drug
directly into the bloodstream. This is also the most rapid method of drug administration.
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Snorting
Inhalation through the nose of drugs not in gaseous form. It is done by inhaling a powder of a liquid
drug into the nasal coats of the mucous membrane.

Buccal
The drug is administered by placing it in the buccal cavity just under the lips. The active ingredients of
the drug are absorbed in the bloodstream through the soft tissues lining the mouth.

Suppositories
The drug is administered through the vagina or rectum in suppository form and the drug is also
absorbed into the bloodstream.

DRUG DETECTION
Drug Detection depends on:
 Absorption: (Structure and composition, diffusion and transport, Psychochemical factors in
penetration)

 Disposition: (Distribution, pH partition principle, electrochemical and Donnan distribution,

biotransformation)

 Elimination

WHAT DRUGS ARE TESTED?

■MOST COMMON:
Marijuana
Cocaine
Methamphetamine and its derivatives
Benzodiazepines
Ecstacy
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■OTHER POPULAR TESTS:

Barbiturates
Oxycodone
Amphetamine
Opiates
PCP

SAMPLE SPECIMENS
Blood, Fingernails, Hair, Saliva, Sweat, Tissue, Urine (almost 99%)

CHAPTER V: IDENTIFICATION AND EXAMINATION OF DANGEROUS DRUGS

What is Drug Identification?

Drug Identification is a branch of Forensic Chemistry that deals with the scientific examination of drugs
and volatile substances.
Drug identification is usually conducted by a forensic chemist/chemical officer to determine the
presence of dangerous drugs on submitted specimens. The forensic chemist/chemical officer also conducts
drug tests on the body fluids of suspected drug pushers and users to determine the presence of dangerous
drug metabolites.
Paraphernalia like smoking pipes, tooters, and aluminum foils should also be submitted for examination
to determine the presence of dangerous drugs.

What are the Forms of Dangerous Drugs

Drugs are in various forms. These include tablets, capsules, liquid, powder, brick or decks of marijuana,
crushed leaves, and uprooted plants.
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Examination of the sample taken from the suspected Dangerous Drugs

Methods of Examination
There are two (2) methods of laboratory examination of suspected dangerous drugs namely:
1. Qualitative examination
2. Quantitative examination

Steps common to qualitative and quantitative methods

The following are the steps common to qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis:
1. Selection of method to be used
2. Physical test
3. Sampling
4. Sample preparation
5. Chemical test
6. Confirmatory examination
7. Calculation and interpretation of dates
8. Drawing of conclusion and writing report

Two phases in the examination of the suspected Dangerous Drugs

The two (2) phases in the examination of the suspected dangerous drugs are:
1. Screening test/Preliminary test (also known as the color test)
This test is non-specific and preliminary in nature. It is employed to reduce the number of drugs to a
small and manageable number.

Screening tests include a series of color tests that produce characteristic colors for each family or group
of drugs. This is done by adding a specific reagent to an unknown sample in a spot plate.
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Screening tests are quite simple to perform even by investigators in the field. As a matter of fact, field
tests using these techniques are being taught in Narcotics Investigation Courses. Test reagents and basic
apparatus are commercially available.

Color Reactions:
Upon addition of specific reagents to a sample of dangerous drugs, a specific color reaction is produced
such as:
Cannabis: Duquenois-Levin = violet
Fast Blue B salt = purple-red
Cocaine: Cobalt Thiocyanate test or CT test = blue
Scott test or Modified CT test: Reagent 1 blue
Reagent 2 pink
Reagent 3 = blue
Wagner test = brown (specific test for cocaine)

Diazepam: Zimmerman test = reddish purple or pink (some benzodiazepine derivatives do

not give color with this test)
Hydrochloric acid = yellow
Vitali-Morin test = yellow orange

Opium: Marquis = violet

Ferric Sulfate = Brownish purple
Mecke = Blue to green
Nitric acid = Orange to red to yellow
Morphine: Marquis = Violet to reddish-purple
Codeine: Mecke = Blue to green
Nitric acid = Orange to yellow
Heroin: Mecke = Blue to green
Nitric acid = Yellow to green
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Dille-Koppanyi test = reddish purple (for barbiturates)

Methamphetamine Hydrochloride:
Simon test = Blue
Marquis test = Orange to brown

Ecstacy: Simon test = Blue

Methaqualone and Phencyclidine: CT test =blue
Lysergic or LSD: Ehrlich = violet
Mescaline: Marquis test = Orange Liebermann black

Note:
It must be noted that the Positive results of these tests are not conclusive, as there are substances that
may give the same positive color reaction/s upon the addition of the specific reagents. Hence, confirmatory
tests must be performed by the forensic chemist/ chemical officer on the case to establish the presence and
identification of dangerous drugs. It must also be noted that only those specimens that yielded presumptive
positive results are subject to confirmatory tests in order to confirm if the positive result of the screening test
is really positive.

2. Confirmatory Test
A confirmatory test is the method employed to confirm the results of the screening/preliminary test.
This test involves the application of an analytical procedure to identify the presence of a specific drug or
metabolite. This is independent of the screening test and which uses techniques and chemical principles
different from that of the initial test in order to ensure reliability and accuracy.
There are several methods used in the confirmatory test. Some of these methods are:
(A) Chromatography - the process of separating the mixture and comparing the migration of each
component with the standard. Some chromatographic techniques include:
 Gas chromatography
 Thin Layer chromatography
 High-Pressure Liquid chromatography
What is a Gas Chromatography?
 It is a separation technique
 The mobile phase is a gas
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 Separation is based on the difference in migration rates among sample components.

(B) Spectroscopy - is a confirmatory method whereby light is used to identify the sample specimen.
Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)
Used for the identification of pure organic substances. Identifies organic substances
particularly dangerous drugs and explosive ingredients based on their characteristic functional
groups. In layman's terms, the resulting spectrum could be referred to as the fingerprints of the
substance.

(C) Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy - Used for screening of dangerous drugs in urine specimens.

Examination of the Urine Specimen

The rate of excretion from the body depends on the drug's solubility in fat. Water-soluble drugs (such
as cocaine) are excreted quickly, while fat-soluble drugs (such as marijuana) may take several weeks or months
before excretion.
Drug tests must be conducted to apprehend individual/s who is/are suspected to be user/s; and those
who are charged with the offense of "Illegal Use of Dangerous Drugs".

Validity Test for Urine Specimen

A validity test is conducted to determine the integrity of the samples.

Reasons for Conducting Validity Tests

 In cases of unobserved urine collection
 When there is suspicion that the urine specimen has been tampered with.

Instances when to allow Unobserved Urine Specimen Collection

 When a donor is physically unable to go to the laboratory
 When a donor is involved in a crime scene
 When a donor is involved in post-accident trauma
 When a donor is critically ill
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Different Types of Tampered Urine Specimen

The following are the different types of tampered urine specimens:
A. Adulterated - a specimen containing either a substance that is not a normal constituent for that type
of specimen or an endogenous substance at a concentration that is not a normal physiological
concentration
B. Diluted - refers to a specimen with less than normal physiological constituents
C. Substituted - a specimen that has been derived through switching or replacement of the original
sample.

Ways to Adulterate Urine Samples

The following are the different ways to adulterate urine samples:
(A) Addition of salt
(B) Addition of juice
(C) Addition of detergent
(D) Addition of bleach and other oxidizing
(E) Adulterants
(F) Addition of illicit drugs

Ways to Substitute a Urine Sample

The following are the ways to substitute a urine sample:
(A) Urine from friends or other persons not using drugs may be used as a substitute specimen
(B) Replace the sample with other substances similar to urine in appearance.

Ways to Dilute a Urine Specimen

The following are the ways to dilute a urine specimen:
A. Internal Dilution
(e.g. Intake of plenty of water before collection or drinking of herbal tea, etc.)
B. External Dilution
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(e.g. Addition of water to previously collected urine)

When do we consider a urine specimen as invalid?

A urine specimen is considered invalid under the following circumstances:
 Adulterated, substituted, or diluted
 Improperly collected, handled, and stored
 Improperly documented