Problems of Forensic Sciences 2008 Vol. 75 (LXXV) 326-331
ANALYSIS OF A FATAL POISONING BY ECSTASY PILLS AGAINST A BACKGROUND OF 3-YEARS’ PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE OF ANALYSING METHYLDIOXY DERIVATIVES OF METHAMPHETAMINE
Dominika GIL, Wojciech LECHOWICZ
Institute of Forensic Research, Krakow, Poland
Streszczenie
3,4-methylenodioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) – the synthetic derivative of phenylethylamine – is one of the oldest psychoactive compounds produced in illegal laboratories and is sometimes categorised as a designer drug. The increasing availability of ecstasy tablets together with the popular misconception that taking MDMA is relatively safe means that MDMA is often treated as a recreational drug (especially among young people going to discotheques). The number of cases involving consumption of MDMA has remained high, and, moreover, it is increasingly frequently taken simultaneously with other drugs, and so there are a greater number of cases of conflict with the law and even fatal incidents. Screening of biological material is performed by ELISA immunoenzyme sorption methods with an accepted cut off at the level of 50 ng /ml of MDMA, and high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) with values of detection limits of 100–800 ng/ml. Analyses oriented towards derivatives of methamphetamines are conducted by the method of liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Detection limits for the LC-MS method are about 2 ng/ml depending on the mode of monitoring. The paper concerns a case of a deadly poisoning of a 22-year old man who, according to the testimonies of witnesses, took about 100 ecstasy pills. Analysis showed the presence of MDMA at a concentration of 12580 ng/ml and its metabolite 3,4-methy¬leno- dioxyamphetamine (MDA) at a concentration of 211 ng/ml in the blood of the man. In the investigated blood, the presence of amphetamine at a concentration of 783 ng/ml and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (9THC) at a concentration of 1.4 ng/ml was ascertained. The described case is an example of the increasingly prevalent phenomenon of multiple toxicomania.
Słowa kluczowe
Ec stasy; Over dose; Blood.