Category: Drugs

Cannabis Field Sobriety Tests

by · Aug 3, 2023 5:26 am

As cannabis use becomes more commonplace, given state legalization efforts, a pressing issue is enforcement of impaired driving laws.  A new study published in JAMA Psychiatry, however, suggests high false positives rates are a problem with field sobriety tests for cannabis intoxication.  From an accompanying commentary:

In this issue of JAMA Psychiatry, Marcotte et al1 report that field sobriety tests (FSTs) as administered by highly trained police officers are insufficient to detect cannabis-induced impairment in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel randomized clinical trial involving a large sample of 184 cannabis users. Although the group receiving active doses of Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in cannabis, performed worse on the FSTs as compared with the placebo group; about half of the participants in the placebo group were classified as impaired. These findings are in line with previous placebo-controlled studies that also reported high false-positive FST rates under placebo. The legal implication of these findings can be major given that FSTs are currently part of the evaluation protocol in North America to detect drivers who are cannabis impaired. Yet, the lack of sensitivity of FSTs to detect THC-impaired individuals does not come as a big surprise, as FSTs have primarily been validated to detect gross alcohol impairment at high (more than 0.10%) blood alcohol concentrations. To add to this problem, there is no cannabis equivalent of a breathalyzer to verify exposure induced impairment, as trace amounts of THC in biomarkers correlate poorly with cannabis-induced behavioral impairment.

The need for a reliable method to assess cannabis intoxication is desperately needed.

 

NY Drug Dealer Convicted of Killing Three

by · Jan 31, 2023 1:55 pm

A New York City drug dealer who distributed fentanyl-laced cocaine out of his mother’s Manhattan apartment has been convicted of the 2021 poisoning deaths of three people.  Aaron Katersky of CBS News reports that Billy Ortega faces 25 years-to -life in federal prison for selling the laced cocaine to stockbroker Ross Mitangi, lawyer Amanda Scher and social worker Julia Ghahramari on the same day in March of 2021.  All three died of fentanyl poisoning.  Federal prosecutors proved that Ortega knew that the drugs he was selling were causing overdoses.  He even gave some of the cocaine to another dealer and suggested he test it’s potency telling him, “give it some girls and you let me know…”  In 2021 18,000 American fatally overdosed on fentanyl-laced cocaine.  Fortunately federal law provides a stiff mandatory minimum sentence for this type of crime.

The Economic Impact of Drug Use

by · Apr 22, 2022 6:17 am

Many readers will have noticed that, practically everywhere you go, you see “Help Wanted” signs.  I’m in my seventies, and at no point have I seen as many as I see now.  What’s behind this?

One big answer is tanking labor force participation:  More and more people of working age are simply opting not to get a job.  This is a curious phenomenon.  Although my family was well off, when I reached working age, not getting a job was never even considered an option.  The economic analysts at Axios, which has a generally liberal bent, provide one answer about what’s different now.  I quote part of its newsletter below.

Continue reading . . .

Cannabis and Sex Offenses

by · Apr 21, 2022 3:54 pm

As more jurisdictions legalize cannabis for medicinal and recreational use, it is worth considering how the ineludible uptick in its use might affect society.  For most users, this effect has no bearing on criminal justice issues.  But cannabis might have a plausible role in the commission of sex offenses, given its unique effects on sexual drive and practices.  My colleague Michelle Vorwerk and I examine the topic (subscription required) in a forthcoming article in Behavioral Sciences and the Law.

Risky Drug Dealing

by · Dec 8, 2021 5:34 am

Mental states are imperative for ascribing blame for most crimes.  We care whether someone does something purposefully, knowingly or recklessly.  Selling heroin is risky and unlawful behavior.  It is, of course, risky because you may get caught and go to prison.  But it is fraught with risk to those who buy the drugs.   People sometime die from the poison being sold to them.

But what if you are told by others that the heroin you are selling is unusually strong? Suppose further, those drugs eventually cause the death of another person?   Is that sufficient evidence of recklessness for a manslaughter conviction?

Apparently not in New York, according to the Court of Appeals in People v. Gaworecki.   New York uses the familiar Model Penal Code definition of recklessness, which requires evidence that a person consciously disregards a substantial and unjustified risk.  Even though the defendant in Gaworecki was told by another that the heroin he sold was exceptionally potent, the Court finds the fact that “[t]he People presented no evidence that defendant had been told that other people had overdosed or died after using the heroin he had sold them” (slip op. p. 8) as persuasive that that the evidence was insufficient for conviction.

Cannabis and Mental Disorder

by · Nov 22, 2021 11:27 am

I meant to blog about this a few months ago, but time got away from me.  There is an established link between mental disorders and crime.  Of course, most people who have mental disorders do not commit crime, but the link is well established.  For many years, there has been mounting evidence that cannabis use, particularly during adolescence, increases the risk of developing schizophrenia.  There is an ongoing debate about whether this is a causal or correlational relationship.

Back in July, JAMA Psychiatry published a population-based study from Denmark.  One of the great benefits of the Nordic countries is the ability to conduct population studies due to their public health system structure.  The study, Development Over Time of the Population-Attributable Risk Fraction for Cannabis Use Disorder in Schizophrenia in Denmark, shows that as the prevalence of Cannabis Use Disorder increased, so too did schizophrenia.   As the authors conclude, the results from these longitudinal analyses show the proportion of cases of schizophrenia associated with cannabis use disorder has increased 3- to 4-fold during the past 2 decades.

Another recent study revealed a rise in congenital anomalies among newborns has been observed in Colorado and Washington since 2013, the first states to legalize adult recreational use.  We are in uncharted territory when it comes to cannabis, regardless of one’s opinion about its legal status.

Some Sound Advice on Crack Sentencing

by · Jun 22, 2021 11:45 am

Assuming that Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse can break away from his all-white country club, the Senate Judiciary Committee should have full attendance today for its hearing about crack cocaine sentencing.  As the Washington Post informs us, today’s hearing will center on the Biden Administration’s proposal to lower the cost of doing business for crack dealers by reducing their sentences and, as an extra bonus, making the reductions retroactive.  This will assure earlier release for this particular cohort of drug traffickers, a large percentage of whom will recidivate within five years, according to Sentencing Commission figures. (The number is actually higher than Commission reports, first because yet more dealers recidivate after the five year window, and second because drug trafficking is a notoriously under-reported crime in any event).

Crack sentencing has been a hot topic for years, going back at least to the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, co-sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin and a man I’m proud to call a friend, then-Senator and later Attorney General Jeff Sessions.  Back then, that self-same Washington Post had some sound observations on crack sentencing, observations Congress would do well to heed today.

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Drugs, Arrest, Incarceration, Responsibility and the Resurrection of a Life

by · Jun 16, 2021 12:07 am

This country has been having a seemingly endless debate about drugs.  Although there are gradations in between, there seem to be two mostly opposing camps, to wit, those who would treat drugs as a law enforcement problem, and those who would treat them as a public health problem.

I spent four years as Counselor to the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration.  Drugs are both a law enforcement and a public health problem, and we aren’t going to solve it either by dismissing law enforcement as mere latter day Puritanism, nor by dismissing the opportunity for treatment as mere mush-minded coddling.  But what’s getting overlooked is that no part of the system can be the foundation for a solution.  The foundation for overcoming drugs, as with so much else, is the individual’s understanding that he is responsible for his life and behavior, and his determination to own that responsibility every minute of every day.  This post is about the story of one young lady, Ginny Burton, who resurrected her life with the indispensable help of law enforcement, incarceration, and coming to terms with her failings  —  and then, wonderfully, her potential.

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