Seized Drugs Subcommittee

The Seized Drugs Subcommittee focuses on standards and guidelines related to the examination of evidence to identify drugs and related substances.

Officers | Members | Standards | Discipline-Specific Baseline Documents | Research & Development Needs | Presentations

Officers

Agnes D. Winokur, Subcommittee Chair, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

Claire Dragovich, Subcommittee Vice Chair, DuPage County Sheriff's Office

Anne Slaymaker, Subcommittee Executive Secretary, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

Members

Seized Drugs Roadmap

Standards

Tier 1: On the OSAC Registry

• ASTM E2329-17: Standard Practice for Identification of Seized Drugs (effective August 7, 2018).
• ASTM E2548-11e1: Standard Guide for Sampling Seized Drugs for Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis (effective April 3, 2017).

Tier 2: Published by a Standards Developing Organization (SDO)

• ASTM E1968-19 Standard Practice for Microcrystal Testing in Forensic Analysis for Cocaine.
• ASTM E1969-19 Standard Practice for Microcrystal Testing in the Forensic Analysis of Methamphetamine and Amphetamine.
• ASTM E2125-19 Standard Practice for Microcrystal Testing in the Forensic Analysis of Phencyclidine and its Analogues.
• ASTM E2327 Standard Practice for Quality Assurance of Laboratories Performing Seized-Drug Analysis.
• ASTM E2329-17 Standard Practice for Identification of Seized Drugs.
• ASTM E2548-16 Standard Guide for Sampling Seized Drugs for Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis.
• ASTM E2882-19 Standard Guide for Analysis of Clandestine Drugs.

Tier 3: Sent to an SDO

• Standard Practice for Validation and Verification of Analytical Methods for Forensic Science Service Providers Performing Forensic Chemistry Analysis. 
• Standard Practice for Education and Training of Seized Drug Analysts.
• Standard Practice for Uncertainty Estimation in Seized Drug Analysis.
• Guide for Assessment of Gas Chromatography and Electron Ionization Mass Spectrometry Data During the Qualitative Analysis of Seized Drugs.
• Standard Guide for the Development of Electron Ionization-Mass Spectral (EI-MS) Libraries.
• Standard Guide for Intralaboratory Blind Quality Control Programs for Seized-Drug Analysis.

Tier 4: Under Development

• Standard Guide for Assessment of Fourier Transform Intrared-Spectroscopy (FTIR) Data During the Qualitative Analysis of Seized Drugs.
• Supplemental Document for the Standard Guide for Assessment of Gas Chromatography & Electron Ionization Mass Spectrometry Data.
• Standard Guide for Reporting of Seized Drug Analysis Results.
• Standard Guide for the Analysis of Negatives in Seized Drugs.

Discipline-Specific Baseline Documents

The Forensic Science Standards Board (FSSB) has provided the opportunity for OSAC subcommittees to identify baseline documents and reference materials that best reflect the current state of the practice within their respective disciplines. 

These documents contain practical information regarding these disciplines that can help forensic scientists, judges, lawyers, researchers, other interested parties and the general public, to better understand the nature, scope, and foundations of the individual disciplines as they are currently practiced.

It is important to note that the identification of these documents in this venue does not represent an endorsement by OSAC or NIST. Only documents that are posted on the OSAC Registry constitute OSAC endorsement. All copyrights for these documents are reserved by their owners. Subcommittee position statements or responses to data collections by the subcommittee represent the consensus opinion of the subcommittee, not necessarily the position of the entire OSAC organization or NIST.

*NEW* Resource Document:

• Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry Analysis Considerations

Recommended Documents:

• SWGDRUG Recommendations, Current Edition

• SWGDRUG Supplemental Documents

  • SD-1–A Code of Professional Practice for Drug Analysts
  • SD-2–Quality Assurance/Validation of Analytical Methods
  • SD-3–Examples of Measurement Uncertainty for Weight Determinations
  • SD-4–Examples of Measurement Uncertainty for Purity Determinations
  • SD-5–Reporting Examples

  • SD-6–Examples of Measurement Uncertainty for Extrapolations of Net Weight and Unit Count

• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Publications of Manuals, Guidelines & Publications for Drug Testing Laboratories

• ENFSI-UNODC Guidelines on Representative Drug Sampling

• ENFSI-DWG Guidelines on Sampling of Illicit Drugs for Quantitative Analysis

• ENFSI-DWG Guidelines on the Use of Reference Materials in Forensic Drug Analysis

• Transcript, Evidentiary Hearing, "People of the State of California vs. Randy Chacon, et al", September 13, 2017

Literature:

• Instrumental Data for Drug Analysis (IDDA), Mills, Roberson, Matchett, Simon, Burns and Ollis (3rd edition) or current edition.
• Clarke's Analysis of Drugs and Poisons, Moffat, Osselton, Widdop and Watts (4th edition) or current edition.
• Understanding Mass Spectra: A Basic Approach, Smith (2nd edition) or current edition.
• Hallucinogens: A Forensic Drug Handbook, Richard Laing and Jay Siegel or current edition.
• The Shulgin Index, Volume One: Psychedelic Phenethylamines and Related Compounds, Alexander T. Shulgin (Currently out of print).
• Cannabis Resources
• Pharmacophore Resources

Monographs:

• European Project RESPONSE

• Southern Association of Forensic Scientists Forendex

• Forensic Drug Review

• SWGDRUG Monographs

Spectral Databases/Libraries:

• Cayman Spectral Library GC-MS

• DART Forensics Library

• Designer Drugs Online

• SWGDRUG MS Library

• SWGDRUG IR Library

Research & Development Needs

• See the research and development needs identified by the Seized Drugs Subcommittee.

Presentations

• None currently.