Plano Police Department Narcotics Unit

Sergeant Courtney Pero
Plano (TX) Police Department
Narcotics Division
Our
Goal:
Healthy, Happy & Safe
Children
100%
Children at Risk
9.2 million children in the
United States live in homes where
more than one adult uses illicit drugs
SOURCE: National Center on Addiction
and Substance Abuse at Columbia
University (CASA)
Children at Risk
• Children whose parents abuse
alcohol or drugs are:
• 3 times more likely
to be verbally, physically
or sexually abused
• 4 times more likely
than other children
to be neglected
Children at Risk
Risk (n.): The chance of
something going wrong;
the danger that injury,
damage or loss will occur.
-Encarta Dictionary of North America
Has the risk increased?
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The picture of drug abuse
today vs. 10 to 20 years
ago.
Or even over the last 1 to 3
years?
Significantly higher number
of substances being abused
today.
Existing Drug Trends
Prescription Drug Abuse
Prescription Drug Abuse
• Prescription medicines are now the most
commonly abused drugs among 12 to 13 year
olds.
• According to research conducted by the
Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, one in four
teens say they have taken a prescription
medicine – that was not prescribed to them —
at least once in their lifetime.
Prescription Drug Abuse
Unintentional drug
poisoning is now the
leading cause of
accidental death in the
United States, surpassing
car crashes.
Heroin
Heroin
• Heroin is a highly addictive drug that is processed
from morphine, which is a naturally occurring
substance extracted from the seed pod of the Asian
opium poppy plant.
• Heroin usually appears as a white or brown powder
or as a black sticky substance, known as “black tar
heroin.”
• Approximately 13.5 million people in the world take
opioids (opium-like substances), including 9.2 million
who use heroin.
Black Tar Heroin
Heroin
• Heroin craving can persist years
after drug use stops,
– Can be triggered by exposure to
stress or people, places, and
things associated with drug use.
• Many of heroin’s newest addicts
are in their teens or early 20s;
• Many also come from middle- or
upper-middle-class suburban
families.
In a sample of heroin users in treatment programs, 75
percent who started using heroin after 2000 said they first
abused prescription opioids. They said heroin was easier to
get, cheaper and more potent than prescription drugs.
Black Tar Heroin
What does it look like?
Black Tar Heroin
Methods of Ingestion
Black Tar Heroin
Methods of Ingestion
Heroin
Diphenhydramine
“Cheese” Heroin
Cocaine
Cocaine
Crack Cocaine
Methamphetamine
Re-Emerging Drug Trends
Gamma Hydroxybutrate
( GHB )
GHB
• GHB and its analogues are
abused for their euphoric and
calming effects.
• GHB became popular among
teens and young adults at
dance clubs and “raves” in the
1990s and gained notoriety as
a date rape drug.
GHB
• GHB is usually sold as a
liquid or as a white
powder that is dissolved
in a liquid, such as:
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Water
Juice
Alcohol
Energy drinks
GHB
• GHB dissolved in liquid
has been packaged in
small vials or small
water bottles.
• GHB is clear, colorless
and slightly salty in
taste.
• Analogues include
• GBL (gamma
butyrolactone)
• 1,4-butanediol (“BD”)
GHB
• The concentrations of
these “home-brews”
vary greatly
• Users are usually
unaware of the actual
dose they are drinking.
• Overdose can occur
quite easily (especially
when combined with
alcohol).
Newest Drug Trends
Butane Hash Oil – “BHO”
Butane Hash Oil
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What is it?
What else is it called?
How is it made?
How is it used?
How is it stored?
What are the dangers?
Texas Law?
Butane Hash Oil
Butane Hash Oil – What is it?
• A THC concentrate made by shooting butane
gas through cannabis, then “purging” out the
butane.
Butane Hash Oil
AKA:
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BHO
Butane Honey Oil
Honey
Dabs
Wax
OIL
Butter/Budder
Full melt
• Sap
• Shatter
• Amber glass
BHO – How is it made?
• Butane used to extract the
cannabis resin from the plant.
• A large glass (or metal) tube or
PVC pipe is packed with
marijuana.
BHO – How is it made?
• Liquid butane is added.
• Butane strips the resins from the plant to
collect in a container.
BHO – How is it made?
• Heat and Vacuum used to remove butane.
• Very potent form of hash oil remains
• The extracted cannabinoids are “cannabis
concentrates.”
Butane Hash Oil
• Finished product looks like a thin, hard, and
shiny brown slab
• Much like peanut brittle (without the peanuts).
“Dabbing”
• A metal or glass compartment, called a nail, is
attached to a specially designed bong, known
as an oil rig.
• Typically, the nail is heated with a torch.
• A small amount of hash oil is placed on the
nail, causing it to vaporize.
• The user then inhales the vapor through the
pipe.
“Dabbing”
Butane Hash Oil – How is it used?
• The “shatter,” is placed on the “nail” of a specially designed
pipe that’s been superheated by a blowtorch
• Vaporizes and delivers a direct hit of concentrated THC (70 to
90 percent)
– Note: This is approximately three times the potency of the
strongest marijuana strains.
Butane Hash Oil - Dangers
• Extremely dangerous
manufacturing process.
• Butane is EXTREMELY
volatile
• Many explosions and
fires reported
Butane Hash Oil – Indicators?
• Silicone equipment & containers
“420”
“420”
• April 20th
• Stoner holiday
• “National Pot Smoking Day”
• “420” has become a good
indicator of marijuana use
What about “710”?
What about “710”?
Indicators?
E-Cigarettes with THC/BHO
E-Cigarettes with THC/BHO
• The Dr. Dabber Ghost Vaporizer Pen is a
portable vaporizer built for all of your waxes
and essential oils that retails for $84.95.
E-Cigarettes with THC/BHO
THC / Marijuana Edibles
THC / Marijuana Edibles
• Significant increase!
• Difficult to recognize
• Most will test positive in law enforcement
presumptive field tests
“Syrup” or “Sizzurp”
Synthetic Drugs
Synthetic Drugs – A whole new problem
Synthetic Drugs – A whole new problem
1. Synthetic Cannabinoids
2. Synthetic Cathinones
3. Synthetic Hallucinogens
• Man-made chemicals designed for recreational use
to mimic the effects of various illegal substances.
• To disguise their intended use and circumvent the
law, drugs are sold and advertised as:
• Bath salts, plant food, glass remover, herbal incense,
potpourri, novelty powders, pipe cleaner
• “Not intended for human consumption”
• “Not to be sold to minors”
Synthetic Hallucinogens
(25I-NBOMe, 25C-NBOMe or 25B-NBOMe
AKA: “N-Bomb”……and others)
Synthetic Hallucinogens
(“N-Bomb”, 25i, 25c, 25b….)
• 25I-NBOMe, 25C-NBOMe, and 25B-NBOMe
– Phenethylamine class of drugs
– “N-Bomb”
• Sold as illicit hallucinogens (such as LSD)
• Buyers and sellers often believe this substance is
actually LSD and will refer to it as such.
• Hospital toxicology tests are not able to detect these
substances in patients’ drug screenings.
• There is currently not an available presumptive field test
for “N-Bomb (25I-NBOMe, 25C-NBOMe or 25B-NBOMe.)
Synthetic Hallucinogens
(“N-Bomb”, 25i, 25c, 25b….)
• Street Names:
• N-Bomb
• 25I;
• Smiles
• Synthetic Hallucinogens have been encountered as:
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Soaked onto blotter papers **Most Common**
Powders
Liquid solutions
Laced on edible items
• Including candy and sugar cubes
Synthetic Hallucinogens
(“N-Bomb”, 25i, 25c, 25b….)
• Small amounts (just a few drops) can cause:
– Seizures
– Cardiac and respiratory arrest
– Death
• Linked to deaths of at least 19 Americans aged 15 to 29
between March 2012 and August 2013.
– Numerous other deaths have been reported across the country since
August 2013.
• December 2013 – Death of a 15 year old in Frisco, TX
• Substance purchased in Plano
• Federal prosecution ongoing
Synthetic Hallucinogens
(“N-Bomb”, 25i, 25c, 25b….)
• Officer Safety:
– Can be absorbed through
skin.
– Wear rubber gloves!
“N-Bomb”
User “Review”
“I can see 25i becoming this generation’s acid. It’s incredibly cheap; This dose cost me literally 6 cents.
25i-NBOMe has all the positives of acid, but unlike acid, it’s extremely stable and
completely legal as long as its not ‘for human consumption.’
This is one of the best if not THE BEST drug ever made.
It would be almost impossible to improve. I am done searching for the
perfect psychedelic; this is the one. Both low and high doses are extremely
comfortable and get more rewarding as the dosage is pushed higher.
Under its influence at relatively high doses there was no nausea, no
anxiousness, and absolutely no fear.
There was, instead, a gentle push as the chemical guided me to a mind-state of
pure and indescribable bliss.
There is no doubt in my mind that
this chemical changed me. It’s made me happier.
It’s made me more compassionate. It’s made me more enthusiastic about going and doing things.
The experience in itself is incredible,
but it is the effect it has had on my perception of the world that makes up the majority of its value to me.”
http://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php?ID=95009
“DOC” & “DOB”
• “DOB”: 2,5-Dimethoxy-4-bromoamphetamine
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A psychedelic drug
Substituted amphetamine
Phenethylamine class of compounds.
First synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in 1967
Schedule 1 Controlled Substance (Federally)
PG 2 Controlled Substance (Texas)
• Alexander Shulgin
• American Chemist – Godfather of Psychedelics
• Noteworthy “discoveries” include MDMA, , 2C family and DOx/DOM
family of psychoactive drugs.
“DOC” & “DOB”
• “DOC”: 2,5-Dimethoxy-4-chloroamphetamine
• Not controlled
• Analogue of “DOB”
• Both sold as LSD
• Liquid – placed on blotter paper, candy, sugar cubes
etc
Synthetic Cannabinoids
(K2, Spice, Potporri etc….)
Synthetic Cannabinoids
(K2, Spice….)
• Commonly known as:
• “Synthetic marijuana,” “K2,” or “Spice”
• Often sold in legal retail outlets as:
• “Herbal incense” or “Potpourri”
• Labeled “Not for Human Consumption”
• To mask their intended purpose and avoid Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) regulatory oversight of the
manufacturing process.
Synthetic Cannabinoids
(K2, Spice….)
• Bind to same receptors in the brain (CB1 & CB2) as
Marijuana(THC)
• Advertising/packaging is often misleading
• No consistency in purity or potency
• No regulatory oversight or quality control
• Combination of synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic
hallucinogens have been detected in same sample
• Users don’t know what chemicals they’re taking
Synthetic Cannabinoids
(K2, Spice….)
Synthetic Cannabinoids
(K2, Spice….)
Houston, Texas – February 2013
Synthetic Marijuana – Houston, TX
Mother – “K2 made me do it”
Mother – “K2 made me do it”
Synthetic Cathinones
(“Bath Salts”, “Molly”, etc…)
SYNTHETIC CATHINONES
(“BATH SALTS”, “MOLLY”, ETC…)
Bath Salts
Synthetic Cathinones
• “Bath salts” has become an umbrella term for the latest wave
of designer drugs
• Also: “Molly” and “Ecstasy”
• Technical term is “substituted cathinone”
• Synthetic cathinones:
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Methcathinone
MDPV
Mephedrone
Methylone
Methedrone
Butylone
Naphyrone
Questions?
Sergeant Courtney Pero
Plano (TX) Police Department
Narcotics Division
Courtney@plano.gov
(972) 941-2646