Drug Enforcement Administration

About: Drug Enforcement Administration is a government organization based out in Springfield, Virginia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: High-performance liquid chromatography & Mass spectrometry. The organization has 211 authors who have published 280 publications receiving 7479 citations. The organization is also known as: DEA & Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Justice.

Chiral resolution of cationic drugs of forensic interest by capillary electrophoresis with mixtures of neutral and anionic cyclodextrins.

Abstract: Chiral resolution of a number of cationic drugs of forensic interest (amphetamine, methamphetamine, cathinone, methcathinone, cathine, cocaine, propoxyphene, and various alpha-hydroxyphenethylamines) is achieved via capillary electrophoresis (CE) with added cyclodextrins (CDs), including novel mixtures of neutral and anionic CDs. In the latter studies, resolution and migration speed are readily adjusted by varying the ratio of the two added CDs, as the anionic CD acts as a counter-migrating complexing reagent. The neutral CD, heptakis(2,6-di-O-methyl)-beta-CD, was found suitable for the analysis of illicit cocaine and khat leaves (Catha edulis Forsk), which contain (-)-alpha-aminopropiophenone ((-)-cathinone), (+)-norpseudoephedrine (cathine), (-)-norephedrine, and trace levels of the phenylpentenylamines (+)-merucathinone, (+)-merucathine, and possibly (-)-pseudomerucathine. The use of mixtures of the neutral and the anionic CD (beta-CD sulfobutyl ether IV) was found suitable for the analysis of illicit amphetamine, methamphetamine, methcathinone, and propoxyphene. A model is presented for the impact of mixtures of neutral and anionic CDs on migration behavior and chiral resolution in CE.

“Zombie” Outbreak Caused by the Synthetic Cannabinoid AMB-FUBINACA in New York

Abstract: BackgroundNew psychoactive substances constitute a growing and dynamic class of abused drugs in the United States. On July 12, 2016, a synthetic cannabinoid caused mass intoxication of 33 persons in one New York City neighborhood, in an event described in the popular press as a “zombie” outbreak because of the appearance of the intoxicated persons. MethodsWe obtained and tested serum, whole blood, and urine samples from 8 patients among the 18 who were transported to local hospitals; we also tested a sample of the herbal “incense” product “AK-47 24 Karat Gold,” which was implicated in the outbreak. Samples were analyzed by means of liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. ResultsThe synthetic cannabinoid methyl 2-(1-(4-fluorobenzyl)-1H-indazole-3-carboxamido)-3-methylbutanoate (AMB-FUBINACA, also known as MMB-FUBINACA or FUB-AMB) was identified in AK-47 24 Karat Gold at a mean (±SD) concentration of 16.0±3.9 mg per gram. The de-esterified acid metabolite was found in the serum or...

Location, location, location: Interdistrict and intercircuit variation in sentencing outcomes for federal drug-trafficking offenses

Abstract: Research on sentencing has made clear that factors beyond case and offenders' attributes influence court decisions Environmental and procedural characteristics also significantly affect the sentences of criminal courts Yet, while state-level studies regularly control for such factors, most research on modern federal determinate sentencing has neglected jurisdictional attributes and variation as sources of extralegal sentence disparity Using the organizational context and social worlds theoretical perspectives with a multilevel analytical approach, this study assessed how district and circuit of adjudication affect case-level lengths of sentences for federal drug-trafficking offenses, finding that both significantly affect sentencing outcomes and their predictors