Volume LVII, Nos. 1 and 2, 2005 Science in drug control: the role of laboratory and scientific expertise UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME Vienna BULLETIN ON NARCOTICS Volume LVII, Nos. 1 and 2, 2005 Science in drug control: the role of laboratory and scientific expertise UNITED NATIONS New York, 2007 UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATION Sales No. E.07.XI.3 ISBN 978-92-1-148221-8 ISSN 0007-523X Sandeep Chawla, Editor, Suzanne Kunnen, Editorial Assistant United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Vienna International Centre P.O. Box 500 1400 Vienna, Austria Telephone: (+43-1) 26060-5799 Fax: (+43-1) 26060-5866 The Bulletin on Narcotics is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/ bulletin_on_narcotics.html. It should be noted that, although the year 2005 appears on its cover, the present issue was published only in 2007. Views expressed in signed articles published in the Bulletin are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations Secretariat. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publi- cation do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of any frontiers or boundaries. Material published in the Bulletin is the property of the United Nations and enjoys copyright protection in accordance with the provisions of Protocol 2 annexed to the Universal Copyright Convention concerning the application of that Convention to the works of certain international organizations. PREFACE The Bulletin on Narcotics is a United Nations journal that has been in continuous publication since 1949. It is printed in all six official languages of the United Nations: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. The Bulletin provides information on developments in drug control at the local, national, regional and international levels that can be of benefit to the international community. The present double issue of the Bulletin (vol. LVII, Nos. 1 and 2) is the first to provide a comprehensive overview of the crucial role of scientific and laboratory expertise in drug control. It should be noted that for the sake of continuity, 2005 is given as the year of publication of this issue. Thanks go to Barbara Remberg of the Laboratory and Scientific Section of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for the preparation of this issue. iii EDITORIAL POLICY AND GUIDELINES FOR PUBLICATION Individuals and organizations are invited by the Editor to contribute articles to the Bulletin dealing with policies, approaches, measures and developments (theoretical and/or practical) relating to various aspects of the drug control effort. Of particular interest are the results of research, studies and practical experience that would provide useful information for policymakers, practitioners and experts, as well as the public at large. All manuscripts submitted for publication in the Bulletin should constitute original and scholarly work that has not been published elsewhere or is not being submitted simultaneously for publication elsewhere. The work should be of relatively high professional calibre in order to meet the requirements of a United Nations technical publication. Contributors are kindly asked to exercise discretion in the content of manuscripts so as to exclude any critical judgement of a particular national or regional situation. The preferred mode of transmission of manuscripts is Word format. Each manuscript submitted should consist of an original hard copy and an electronic version (in Word for the text and in Excel for tables and figures) in any of the six official languages of the United Nations (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish). The manuscript should be accompanied by an abstract of approximately 200 words, a complete set of references numbered in the order of their appearance in the text and a list of key words. The manuscript should be between 10 and 20 double-spaced typewritten pages, including tables, figures and references. Tables should be self-explanatory and should supplement, not duplicate, information provided in the text. Manuscripts, together with brief curricula vitae of their authors, should be addressed to the Editor, Bulletin on Narcotics, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Vienna International Centre, P.O. Box 500, 1400 Vienna, Austria. A transmittal letter should designate one author as correspondent and include his or her complete address, telephone number, fax number and e-mail address. Unpublished manuscripts will be returned to the authors; however, the United Nations cannot be held responsible for loss. iv Reprints, purchases and subscriptions All issues of the Bulletin (from vol. I, No. 1 (1949), to the present issue) are available on the home page of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/bulletin_on_narcotics.html). The following special issues of the Bulletin are also available as United Nations pub- lications: 1993 Policy issues relating to drug abuse and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (vol. XLV, No. 1) Drug testing in the workplace (vol. XLV, No. 2) 1994 The family and drug abuse (vol. XLVI, No. 1) General issue on drug abuse (vol. XLVI, No. 2) 1995 Special issue on gender and drug abuse (vol. XLVII, Nos. 1 and 2) 1996 Special issue on rapid assessment of drug abuse (vol. XLVIII, Nos. 1 and 2) 1997 and 1998 Double issue on cannabis: recent developments (vol. XLIX, Nos. 1 and 2, and vol. L, Nos. 1 and 2) 1999 Occasional papers (vol. LI, Nos. 1 and 2) 2000 Economic and social costs of substance abuse (vol. LII, Nos. 1 and 2) 2001 Dynamic drug policy: understanding and controlling drug epidemics (vol. LIII, Nos. 1 and 2) 2002 The science of drug abuse epidemiology (vol. LIV, Nos. 1 and 2) 2003 The practice of drug abuse epidemiology (vol. LV, Nos. 1 and 2) 2004 Illicit drug markets (vol. LVI, Nos. 1 and 2) v Requests for permission to reprint signed material should be addressed to the Secretary of the Publications Board, United Nations, New York, New York 10017, United States of America. Correspondence regarding the purchase of copies of and subscriptions to the Bulletin should be addressed as follows: For Asia, North America, Oceania and South America: The Chief Sales and Marketing Office in New York United Nations Publications United Nations Headquarters New York, NY 10017 United States of America For Africa, Europe and the Middle East: The Chief Sales and Marketing Office in Geneva United Nations Publications United Nations Office at Geneva Palais des Nations CH-1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland vi CONTENTS Page Preface . iii Editorial: science in drug control by B. Remberg and A. H. Stead . 1 I. Drug production Documentation of a heroin manufacturing process in Afghanistan by U. Zerell, B. Ahrens and P. Gerz . 11 Impurity profiling/comparative analyses of samples of 1-phenyl-2-propanone by W. Krawczyk, D. Dudek, T. Kunda and I. Perkowska. 33 Investigation of the origin of ephedrine and methamphetamine by stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry: a Japanese experience by Y. Makino, Y. Urano and T. Nagano . 63 Cultivation of Cannabis sativa L. in northern Morocco by H. Stambouli, A. El Bouri, M. A. Bellimam, T. Bouayoun and N. El Karni . 79 II. Drug trafficking and interdiction Establishment of an operational system for drug profiling: a Swiss experience by S. Ioset, P. Esseiva, O. Ribaux, C. Weyermann, F. Anglada, S. Lociciro, P. Hayoz, I. Baer, L. Gasté, A.-L. Terrettaz-Zufferey, C. Delaporte and P. Margot . 121 Drug profiling: a new scientific contribution to law enforcement operations in Viet Nam by H. M. Hung, N. D. Tien and N. X. Truong . 149 Residual solvents in methylenedioxymethamphetamine tablets as a source of strategic information and as a tool for comparative analysis: the development and application of a static headspace gas chromatography/mass spectrometry method by H. A. A. H. Visser, M. Visser-van Leeuwen and H. Huizer . 167 vii Page Determination of inorganic elements in poppy straw by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometry as a means of ascertaining origin by E. Çopur, N. G. Gö4ger, B. Sener¸ and T. Orbey . 183 III. Drug abuse On-site drug testing by O. H. Drummer . 205 Drugs and driving: the Finnish perspective by P. Lillsunde and T. Gunnar . 213 Role of drug testing as an early warning programme: the experience of the Republic of Korea by Heesun Chung . 231 Psychoactive plant abuse: the identification of mitragynine in ketum and in ketum preparations by K. B. Chan, C. Pakiam and Rusyidah A. Rahim . 249 IV. Quality management in laboratories Quality management systems and the admissibility of scientific evidence: the Costa Rican experience by M. Salas and D. Gómez . 259 viii Editorial: science in drug control B. Remberg and A. H. Stead Laboratory and Scientific Section, Policy Analysis and Research Branch, Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Science is not obvious, nor is it a “fact factory” producing comprehensive information. It is a systematic approach to knowledge about the material world that progresses by ruling out what is not true. Contrary to the way most people think of science, its purpose is not to amass evidence in support of every critical point in an argument in order to prove truth. In some ways, the accumulation of specific facts is a by-product of science. The true objective of the scientific enter- prise is understanding, which comes as much from the intellect as from experience. Tee L. Guidotti, Science on the Witness Stand Fifty-five years after the first publication was issued as part of a United Nations- led international collaborative scientific research programme in the field of drug control,* the present special issue of the Bulletin on Narcotics compiles 13 articles from scientists from around the world, on priority subjects of a scientific and technical nature.