The misuse of drugs act : a guide for forensic scientists

In recent years, the use of illegal substances has increased, particularly in the area of "designer" drugs which have rapidly become part of youth culture.

This book should help to meet the need for anyone involved in drug control to have up to date information about the subject by providing a chemical background to the legal controls on drugs of abuse.

Although focused on the UK, some of the provisions of the Misuse of Drugs Act derive from international treaties; the discussion of technical aspects is therefore of wider relevance.

Apart from the Act itself, the book also deals with certain aspects of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations.There is detailed coverage of "designer" drugs and the generic legislation that was introduced to tackle them.

The more recent addition of 35 "Ecstasy"-like substances is covered in depth.

The significance to the legislation of terms such as salt, base, stereoisomer, ester, ether, derivative, homologue and isotope are described, and the text is supplemented by 23 tables and over 80 chemical structures.

There are eleven appendices covering topics such as precursor chemicals, related legislation, stated cases, sentencing guidelines and the chemical characteristics of commonly-abused drugs.