ToxTalk Editors

Yale Caplan, Ph.D., DABFT

Vickie Watts, M.S.

Section Editors

Daniel Anderson, M.S.

Matthew Barnhill, Ph.D., DABFT

Dwain Fuller, B.S.

Donald Kippenberger, Ph.D.

SOFT Board of Directors

PRESIDENT

Diana Wilkins, Ph.D.

VICE PRESIDENT

Christine Moore, Ph.D., DABCC

SECRETARY

Anthony Costantino, Ph.D., DABFT

TREASURER

Bradford Hepler, Ph.D., DABFT

WEBMASTER

Bruce Goldberger, Ph.D., DABFT

DIRECTORS

Philip Kemp, Ph.D., DABFT

Barry Logan, Ph.D., DABFT

Ashraf Mozayani, Ph.D., DABFT

Marc LeBeau, Ph.D.

Sarah Kerrigan, Ph.D.

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

2007 Meeting Info 2-3

Nominations for 2008 4-5

Drugs in the News 6-7

Case Notes 8-9

New Drug 10

S.O.F.T. Member News 11

Future Meeting News 12

For those of you already regis-tered and those planning to, the SOFT2007 Organizing Committee would like towelcome you in advance to North Caro-lina, home to the first officially incorpo-rated SOFT meeting.

The mission of SOFT is to pro-mote and develop the science of forensictoxicology, and the 2007 program commit-tee has organized an excellent forum tofulfill that mission, including the first pres-entation of the SOFT Student EnrichmentProgram (SSEP). The SSEP will provideNorth Carolina High School and Collegestudents with a full day of activities de-signed to expose them to the toxicologylaboratory and to practicing forensic toxi-cologists.

A broad array of topics will becovered in the five full-day and three half-day workshops followed by approximately30 platform and 86 poster presentations.The program this year has been formattedto prevent concurrent scientific sessions.Three receptions, including an evening atDurham’s Historic Tobacco Campus, willprovide food, drink, dance and multipleopportunities to socialize and enjoy thecity.

The Sheraton Imperial Hotel islocated in Research Triangle Park, an al-most 3600 acre public/private, planned re-search park established in 1959 by leadersfrom business, academia and industry. Thehotel will provide shuttles to nearby areas,including shopping malls and downtownChapel Hill where you will find marvelousrestaurants and more.

Please remember to thank themany exhibitors and sponsors for their con-tinued contributions to S.O.F.T. In additionto financially supporting the meeting activi-ties, these groups provide the resources weneed to perform our regular jobs efficientlyand accurately.

On behalf of the 2007 OrganizingCommittee we hope you receive valuablescientific information from the program andhave a chance to enjoy the southern hospi-tality for which our area is known.

R A L E I G H — D U R H A M — C H A P E L H I L L , N CH E R E W E C O M E !

®

Society of Forensic Toxico logists , Inc .Volume 31, Issue 3

September 2007

TOXTALK

S . O . F. T. S T U D E N T E N R I C H M E N T P R O G R A M

gram to the attention of interested stu-dents, and encourage them to submittheir applications to attend this uniquelearning opportunity.

For further information refer tothe S.O.F.T. web site:[http://www.soft-tox.org/docs/SOFT%202007%20SEP%20Application.pdf] or contact Pro-gram Chair:

Andrew Mason, Ph.D.forn6tox@aol.comPhone 828-265-1144Fax 828-265-3606

The S.O.F.T. Student Enrich-ment Program (SSEP) has numerousopenings still available for high schooland college students. The SSEP Com-mittee would also like to announce thatinterested graduate students should ap-ply, and that their applications will beconsidered on a first-come, first servedand space available basis. While theofficial deadline for application wasSeptember 14, we will continue to ac-cept applicants after this date until allslots are filled. Please bring this pro-

Summer is almost over and thereare many exciting events and activities ap-proaching!

Only a few more weeks remainuntil the 2007 SOFT Annual Meeting at theSheraton Imperial Hotel in Chapel Hill,N.C. Our local meeting co-hosts, Jeri Rop-ero-Miller and Ruth Winecker, along withtheir incredible local team have put togethera program that promises to be both informa-tive and fun. If you haven’t registeredalready, it isn’t too late to attend and joinyour colleagues at this meeting. The work-shops, scientific sessions, and social activi-ties promise to make this a great meeting!

This past quarter, S.O.F.T.’s AdHoc Committee for Long-Term StrategicPlanning has continued to review and de-velop recommendations for the future

growth of the organization. Chaired byDr. Brad Helper, this important commit-tee will be able to report to the member-ship on their progress at the 2007 AnnualMeeting. Please be sure to come to theBusiness Meeting so that you can be up-dated on all the latest information andparticipate in planning for S.O.F.T.’sfuture!

In keeping with tradition, thejoint SOFT/JAT special issue of the Jour-nal of Analytical Toxicology will soon beavailable. This issue presents currentinformation on some of the most relevanttopics to the practice of forensic toxicol-ogy. Emerging trends and novel researchin the areas of analytical, post-mortemand human performance toxicology, aswell as case studies of particular interest

to forensic toxicologists, are included inthis valuable resource. Dr. Sarah Kerri-gan (Guest Editor) and her team of re-viewers, as well as submitting authors,have done an outstanding job in helpingto create this special publication.

Please also continue to submityour news items and articles for ToxTalkto our Interim- and Section Editors, YaleCaplan, Vickie Watts, Dan Anderson,Matthew Barnhill, Dwain Fuller, and DonKippenberger. Thanks to all of the manyS.O.F.T. members who continue to helpcreate this outstanding resource for themembership.

Looking forward to seeing eve-ryone at the October meeting!

Diana

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PR ES ID EN T’S MES SA GE

BY D I AN A W I LK I NS , PH .D.

Volume 31 , Issue 3

EX H IB IT & SPO NS O R UP D ATE

Each year the list of companiesexhibiting and sponsoring at our annualmeeting becomes more and more im-pressive. The financial commitmentfrom exhibitors is absolutely essential inkeeping meeting registration feeslow. The exhibit booths for this year'sS.O.F.T. meeting in N.C. sold out in anastoundingly short period of time. Thisyear's remarkable list of exhibitors in-clude the following companies:

Agilent TechnologiesAIT Laboratories

Alternative Biomedical SolutionsAmerican Solutions for Business

Applied BiosystemsAxiom Diagnostics

Biochemical Diagnostics, Inc./HamiltonBiotage

Branan Medical CorporationBruker Daltonics

Campbell Science CorporationCapitol Vial, Inc.

Cerilliant CorporationChemWare, Inc.

CMI, Inc.

Common Cents Systems,Dade Behring, Inc.

Data Unlimited International, Inc.domnick hunter, Inc. (a division of

Parker-Hannifin Corporation)DPX Labs, LLCEccoTrax, Inc.

Excalibur Lab Specialists, Inc.Express Diagnostics International

Forensic MagazineGBF, Inc.

Gentech Scientific, Inc.GERSTEL, Inc.

Hamilton/Biochemical Diagnostics, Inc.Immunalysis Corporation

Instant TechnologiesInternational Diagnostic Systems Corp.

Journal of Analytical ToxicologyJEOL USA, Inc.JusticeTrax, Inc.

Laboratory Corporation of AmericaLeap Technologies

Lin-Zhi International, Inc.Lipomed, Inc.

Microgenics CorporationMicroLiter Analytical Supplies, Inc.

Neogen CorporationNMS Labs

OraSure Technologies, Inc.Orochem Technologies

PerkinElmer Life & Analytical SciencesQuality Assurance Services

Randox LaboratoriesRegis TechnologiesRestek Corporation

Roche Diagnostics CorporationRudolph Research Analytical

Sciteck Diagnostics, Inc.SGE, Inc.

Shamrock Glass Company, Inc.Shimadzu Scientific Instruments, Inc.

SPEware CorporationStandard RegisterThermo Scientific

United Chemical Technologies, Inc.UTAK Labs, Inc.

Varian, Inc.Venture Labs, Inc.

VertiQ Software, LLCWaters Corporation

(as of 9-1-07)

ToxTalk Page 3

®

Saturday, October 13, 2007 Satellite Organizational Meetings

Sunday, October 14, 2007 Registration Opens

(9:00 am—6:00 pm) NLCP Inspector Training

(2:00 pm—6:00 pm)

Monday, October 15, 2007 Continental Breakfast

(7:00 am—8:30 am) Registration (7:00 am—6:00 pm) SOFT Board Meeting

(7:00 am—1:00 pm) ABFT Exam Committee

(7:00 am—noon) Workshops 1, 2, 3

(8:00 am—5:00 pm) SOFT Student Enrichment Program

(8:00 am—5:00 pm) Workshop 4 (8:00 am—noon) Sunshine/Rieders Silent Auction

(opens Monday noon, closesThursday at noon)

Workshop 5 (1:00 pm—5:00 pm) FTCB Board Meeting

(5:00 pm—6:00 pm) SOFT / AAFS Drugs & Driving

(5:00 pm—6:30 pm) Dinner—on your own Roche Hospitality

(8:00 pm—10:00 pm) Applied Bioscience Hospitality

(8:00 pm—10:00 pm)

Tuesday, October 16, 2007 Continental Breakfast

(7:00 am—8:30 am) Registration (7:00 am—6:00 pm) Sunshine/Rieders Silent Auction

(all day)

Tuesday, October 16, 2007 continued Workshop 8 (8:00 am—noon) Workshops 6, 7 (8:00 am—5:00 pm)

ABFT Examination(8:00 am—noon)

ABFT Accreditation Committee(8:00 am—noon)

ABFT Board Meeting(noon—6 pm)

Exhibits Set-up (noon—5:00 pm) Exhibits Open (6:30 pm—8:00 pm) Welcoming Reception in Exhibit

Hall (6:30 pm—8:00 pm) Elmer Gordon Forum

(8:00 pm—10:00 pm) Nite Owl Reception

hosted by Cerilliant(10:00 pm—midnight)

Wednesday, October 17, 2007 Continental Breakfast

(7:00 am—8:30 am) Registration (7:00 am—5:30 pm) Sunshine/Rieders Silent Auction

(all day) AAFS Steering (7:30 am—noon) Scientific Session #1

(8:30 am—10:00 am) Exhibits Open (8:30 am—3:30 pm) Poster Session #1 (10:30 am—noon) Lunch w/ Exhibitors

(noon—1:30 pm) DFSA Committee Meeting

(noon—1:30 pm) Scientific Session #2

(1:30 pm—3:00 pm) SOFT Business Meeting

(3:30 pm—5:00 pm) Exhibitor’s Happy Hour

(5:00 pm—6:30 pm) Historic Tobacco Campus with

Music on the Lawn(6:30 pm—10:30 pm)

Thursday, October 18, 2007 SOFT Fun Run/Walk

(6:30 am—8:00 am) Continental Breakfast

(7:00 am—8:30 am) Registration (7:00 am—5:00 pm) Sunshine/Rieders Silent Auction

(winning bids posted at noon) Exhibitor Feedback Meeting

(8:00 am—9:00 am) Scientific Session #3

(8:30 am—10:00 am) Exhibits Open (9:00 am—1:30 pm) Poster Session #2

(10:30 am—noon) Lunch w/ Exhibitors

(noon—1:30 pm) Scientific Session #4

(1:30 pm—3:00 pm) Exhibits Breakdown

(1:30 pm—5:30 pm) Poster Session #3

(3:30 pm—5:00 pm) ABFT Certificate Reception

(5:00 pm—6:00 pm) President’s Reception

(6:30 pm—10:30 pm)

Friday, October 19, 2007 Continental Breakfast

(7:30 am—9:00 am) Registration (8:00 am—11:00 am) Sunshine/Rieders Silent Auction

claim merchandise before11:00 am

Closing Scientific Session #5(9:00 am—11:00 am)

NSC Committee on Alcohol &Drugs (11:30 pm—1:30 pm)

P R E L I M I N A R Y P R O G R A M

S . O . F. T. 2 0 0 7 A N N U A L M E E T I N G

R A L E I G H - D U R H A M - C H A P E L H I L LOctober 15-19, 2007

Co-Hosts: Jeri Ropero-Miller / Ruth Winecker

Site: Sheraton Imperial Hotel, Durham, North Carolina

NOMI NAT I NG C OMMI TTE E OFFE R S 2 0 0 8 SL ATEThe 2007 SOFT Nominating Committee, consisting of Timothy Rohrig(Chair), Jennifer Limoges, and Rod McCutcheon, respectfully submitthe following slate for consideration by the membership for 2008.

Christine Moore, Ph.D

Anthony Costantino, Ph.D.

Sarah Kerrigan, Ph.D.

Peter Stout, Ph.D.,

Dan Anderson, M.S.

Dwain Fuller, B.S.

President:

Vice President:

Secretary:

Directors:

President: (one year term)Christine Moore Ph.D.

Dr. Christine Moore is currentlythe Vice President of Toxicology Re-search and Development for ImmunalysisCorporation, a company specializing inthe manufacture and distribution of mi-croplate systems for testing drugs ofabuse.

Dr. Moore has a Bachelor ofScience (Honors) degree in AppliedChemistry from the University of Salford,England (1985), a Master of Science de-gree in Forensic Science from the Univer-sity of Strathclyde, Scotland (1986), and aPh.D. in Forensic Toxicology from theUniversity of Glasgow, Scotland (1989).Additionally, she is Board Certified inToxicological Chemistry by the AmericanBoard of Clinical Chemistry (DABCC),and is a Fellow of the Royal Society ofChemistry and the American Academy ofForensic Sciences.

Dr. Moore is currently the Vice-President of the Society of Forensic Toxi-cologists (SOFT) and VP of the Societyof Hair Testing. She is a member of theInternational Association of ForensicToxicologists (TIAFT), the AmericanAssociation of Clinical Chemistry(AACC), the Research Society on Alco-holism (RSA), the California Associationof Toxicologists (CAT), and the Interna-tional Council on Alcohol, Drugs andTraffic Safety (ICADTS). Additionally,she is Past-President of the Mid-WestAssociation for Toxicology and Thera-peutic Drug Monitoring (MATT) and ispast Chair of the Toxicology Section ofthe American Academy of Forensic Sci-ences.

She currently has over 85 peer-reviewed publications regarding theanalysis of drugs in biological matrices.

Vice-President: (one year term)Anthony Costantino, Ph.D.

Dr. Anthony G. Costantino, isVice President of Laboratory Operationsat NMS Labs in Willow Grove, Pennsyl-vania. NMS is a testing laboratory whoseprimary focus is analytical services serv-ing both forensic and clinical toxicology.The laboratory services clinical referencelaboratories, medical examiners, coroners,police departments and pharmaceuticalcompanies for toxicology analyses. Priorto coming to NMS in 2002, Dr. Costan-tino was the Sr. Vice President of Toxi-cology at American Medical Laboratories,Inc. in Chantilly, VA. There he was re-sponsible for the SAMHSA laboratory aswell as the Clinical Toxicology and In-dustrial Hygiene Laboratories.

He received his Ph.D. in Foren-sic Toxicology from the University ofMaryland in Baltimore, an MS in Pharma-cology and Toxicology, as well as a BS inPharmacy from Duquesne University inPittsburgh, PA. His research interestshave included postmortem redistributionof drugs and their metabolites, and morerecently has been involved with the studyof the ethanol metabolite, ethylglucuron-ide.

Dr. Costantino is an inspector forthe National Laboratory Certification Pro-gram and has also been active as an in-spector for the College of American Pa-thologists Forensic Urine Drug TestingProgram. He has been a member of theAACC and the TDM/Tox Division since1984 and has served is the editor of thedivision newsletter “Therapeutics andToxins News”. He has been active in theSociety of Forensic Toxicology since1985 and has served on the Board of Di-rectors from 2002-2004 and as Secretarysince 2006. He is also a Fellow of theAmerican Academy of Forensic Sciencesand is a Diplomate of the American Boardof Forensic Toxicology.

Secretary: (two year term)Sarah Kerrigan, Ph.D.

Dr. Sarah Kerrigan is an Associ-ate Professor and Director of the ForensicScience Program in the College of Crimi-nal Justice at Sam Houston State Univer-sity. She received a BS degree in Chemis-try, Analytical Chemistry and Toxicologyfrom the University of Hull in England.She conducted her postgraduate work intoxicology at the University of BritishColumbia in Vancouver, Canada whereshe received her Ph.D. She received herinitial training in forensic toxicology in1990 at the Metropolitan Police ForensicScience Laboratory in London, England.Between 2001 and 2004 she served asChief of the Toxicology Bureau for theNew Mexico Department of Health, Sci-entific Laboratory Division where she wasresponsible for the blood and breath alco-hol program in addition to forensic drugand alcohol related medical examiner andcriminal casework statewide. Dr. Kerriganwas an Adjunct Professor in the PathologyDepartment of the School of Medicine atthe University of New Mexico at thattime. Prior to this, she worked at the Cali-fornia Department of Justice ToxicologyLaboratory in Sacramento, CA. Over aperiod of six years Dr. Kerrigan served onthe Board of Directors of the CaliforniaAssociation of Toxicologists where sheheld a variety of elected positions, includ-ing President (2004-2005). She served onseveral SOFT committees including Con-tinuing Education (1999-2002), Member-ship (2004-2005), Drug-Facilitated SexualAssault (2000-present) and the jointSOFT/AAFS Drugs and Driving Commit-tee, where she currently serves as Chair.Dr. Kerrigan was elected to the SOFTBoard of Directors in 2006.

Dr. Kerrigan has been a contrib-uting author in several toxicology text-books and has published research in peerreviewed journals. In 2002 she joined thefaculty of the National Judicial College in

The President and Vice President serve one year terms while the Treas-urer and Secretary serve two year terms, which expire in alternate years.The five additional Directors are elected for three year terms. If a direc-tor cannot serve his/her entire term, an interim director shall be namedby the Board to serve the remaining term. All officers are also directors.

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Reno, NV. She is a member of the Edito-rial Advisory Board of the Journal of Ana-lytical Toxicology and past Chair of theEditorial Advisory Board for Clinical andForensic Toxicology News, an AACC pub-lication (2001-2005). Dr. Kerrigan worksclosely with attorneys, law enforcementand the judiciary on traffic safety issues.She was recognized for her dedication,perseverance and commitment to theseefforts by the New Mexico Department ofTransportation in 2002. Dr. Kerrigan re-ceived the Outstanding DRE Program In-novation award from the IACP/CANDIDin 2003 and was the recipient of the IrvingSunshine Toxicology Award from theAmerican Academy of Forensic Sciencesin 2002.

Director: (three year term)Peter Stout, Ph.D.

Peter R. Stout has a Ph.D. in Toxi-cology form the University of ColoradoHealth Sciences Center. He is board certi-fied as a Diplomate of the American Boardof Forensic Toxicology. Dr. Stout has ex-tensive experience in the management ofboth military and civilian forensic urinedrug testing laboratories. Dr. Stout servedas a Lieutenant in the United States Navyand was the Executive Officer and Techni-cal Director for the Navy Drug ScreeningLaboratory in Jacksonville, FL. He was aResponsible Person for a SAMHSA/HHS-certified forensic urine drug testing labora-tory and as director he oversaw the proc-essing of controlled substances cases andprovided all of the testimony support re-quested for these cases. He also supervisedthe processing of workplace drug testing,postmortem toxicology sports performancetesting and litigation support. Currently,Dr. Stout is the project leader for the Na-tional Laboratory Certification Program,Pilot Oral Fluid PT program and co-director of Web based Continuing Educa-tion in the Forensic Sciences, and ForensicToxicology Research Program. Dr. Stoutmaintains active leadership roles in profes-sional scientific organizations and is amember of SOFT and a Fellow in AAFS.He also has more than 25 peer reviewedpublications in toxicology.

Director: (three year term)Dan Anderson, M.S.

Dan Anderson has been a Toxi-cologist for over 17 years and is currentlythe Supervising Criminalist/Toxicologist inthe Forensic Science Laboratories of the

Los Angeles County Department of Coro-ner in Los Angeles, CA, a position he hasheld since 1995. Previously, Dan wasemployed with the Los Angeles Coroner(1990-1994) and the Ventura CountySheriff’s Department (1994-1995) as aCriminalist/Toxicologist. He was an ad-junct professor at California State Univer-sity-Los Angeles (2001-2005) where hetaught the subject of Forensic Toxicologyto students obtaining their Master’s De-gree and served as an instructor at theCalifornia Criminalistics Institute in Sac-ramento, CA (2002). Dan received a BSDegree from Colorado State University inFort Collins, CO in 1988 and a MS inForensic Science from the University ofNew Haven in West Haven, CT in 1990.

Mr. Anderson has held affilia-tions with several professional organiza-tions including the California Associationof Toxicologists (CAT), American Acad-emy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS), Cali-fornia Association of Criminalists (CAC),and Society of Forensic Toxicologists(SOFT). He has been very active in theorganizations including hosting seminarsfor CAT (2000 & 2006) and CAC (2002),a ToxTalk associate editor for SOFTsince 2001, SOFT’s Budget, Finance andAudit committee, SOFT’s MembershipCommittee, CAC Toxicology Studygroup Chair (1995-1997), CAT QualityAssurance Coordinator (2000-2007),CAT New Drugs Chair (2002-present),and CAT President (2005-2006). Dan is aDiplomate of the American Board ofCriminalistics (1998) and has recentlybeen certified (February, 2007) as a Fo-rensic Toxicology Specialist by theAmerican Board of Forensic Toxicology(ABFT).

Mr. Anderson has given manyplatform presentations, posters, and pub-lished articles in forensic toxicologywhose topics include Fentanyl(Duragesic® Patch), GHB, Oxycontin®,Mirtazapine, Quetiapine, and Duloxetine.He has served as a reviewer for the Jour-nal of Analytical Toxicology (JAT) since2000, has reviewed articles for the Foren-sic Science International, and was re-cently appointed the Workshop Coordina-tor for the SOFT Phoenix, AZ -2008meeting.

As a firm believer of becoming in-volved and promoting research withinyour own laboratory, Dan has been suc-cessful in having three members of his

scientific staff awarded SOFT’s YoungScientist Meeting Award (2004, 2006,2007) and two members awarded theAAFS Regional Award (2001 & 2005).

Director: (three year term)Dwain Fuller, B.S.

Dwain Fuller is a member of thefaculty at the University of Texas South-western Medical Center at Dallas wherehe serves as the Acting Technical Direc-tor for the toxicology laboratory at theVeterans Affairs North Texas Health CareSystem. Mr. Fuller has a BS in Chemis-try from the University of Oklahoma. Hebegan his career in forensic toxicology in1984 as a bench chemist for the Office ofthe Chief Medical Examiner for the Stateof Oklahoma. In 1987 he moved to Reno,Nevada to accept a position as the Assis-tant Director of Toxicology with SierraNevada Laboratories, Inc., a private labo-ratory that provided forensic toxicologyservices primarily to Northern Nevadalaw enforcement and coroner’s offices.Mr. Fuller was instrumental in bringingSierra Nevada Laboratories, Inc. to SAM-HSA certification. Through a series ofcorporate purchases and mergers, SierraNevada Laboratories, Inc. became aLaboratory Corporation of America labo-ratory. In 1993, Mr. Fuller was promotedto the Director of Toxicology, and be-came the Responsible Person (RP) for theSAMHSA lab, positions he held untilaccepting his present assignment in 1998.

Mr. Fuller is certified as a Diplo-mate of the Forensic Toxicologist Certifi-cation Board and as a ToxicologicalChemist by the National Registry of Cer-tified Chemists. He is a member of theSociety of Forensic Toxicologists, theAmerican Academy of Forensic Sciences,and the Southwestern Association ofToxicologists. He has served on theCommittee for Testing for Intoxicationfor the State of Nevada and as a panelmember on the Governor’s Conference onSafety for the State of Nevada. He hasalso served as a faculty member for nu-merous courses for the National JudicialCollege in Reno, Nevada and has servedon various committees for the Society ofForensic Toxicologists and as a reviewerfor several of the special SOFT editionsof the Journal of Analytical Toxicology.He is currently the Section Editor of theDrugs in the News for ToxTalk, the quar-terly publication of the Society of Foren-sic Toxicologists.

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Submitted by Section Editor, Dwain Fuller, BS, D-FTCB, TC-NRCC

D R U G S I N T H E N E W S

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CH EE SEminister, insisted at the time that his sonhad not tried drugs before and recom-mended that all parents watch their chil-dren closely. On April 24, the same daythat results of Cortez' toxicology tests wereannounced, the department also announcedthat his sister's 19-year-old boyfriendwould be charged with murder for havingmixed the drugs for the younger boy. Thefather went on to become a speaker atcommunity meetings within the schoolsystem.

On April 18, 2007, the body of18-year-old Keridma "Katy" Godina wasfound on a porch in Balch Springs, a Dal-las suburb, the day after her death, whichwas later determined to be caused by“cheese” heroin.

In April 2007, The Dallas Morn-ing News published the results of a lengthyanalysis of autopsy results between 2005and 2007, conducted in concert with theDallas County medical examiner's office,which suggested that as many as 17 deathsamong adolescents during that period wereattributable to “cheese” heroin. (This fig-ure did not include the March 31 deathbecause the toxicology results for that casewere not yet back at the publication of thecounty-wide analysis.) The conclusion wasbased in part on the presence of both her-oin and diphenhydramine in the blood ofthe deceased; additionally, the families of11 victims confirmed the deceased hadabused “cheese” heroin.

In mid-May, two more teen deaths— one in January and another in April —were declared by the Dallas County medi-cal examiner's office to be connected to“cheese” heroin, based on toxicology tests.This brought the total of “cheese”-relateddeaths among those 18 and under in DallasCounty to 21 confirmed cases in all.

“Cheese” is the street name for amixture of heroin and Tylenol PM, whichis an OTC compounding of acetamino-phen and diphenhydramine. Comparedwith black-tar heroin which typically has aheroin concentration of 30 – 34%,“cheese” typically contains only 2 – 8%

heroin. “Cheese” is usually snorted,unlike heroin which is most often in-jected. This along with the fact that one“hit” of “cheese”, one tenth of a gram,sells for two dollars, may account forsome of the appeal to teens. While theorigin is uncertain, the name probablyderives from the fact that the finishedproduct resembles Parmesan cheese.

The apparent lethality of thismixture of heroin and Tylenol PM is asubject of much controversy and may bethe result of several factors: First, onecannot discount the ability of the newsmedia to make something appear to bepandemic when it is a reasonably con-fined occurrence. This is evidenced bythe “Summer of the Shark” phenomenonin 2001, when a bull shark bit off the armof an 8-year-old on a Florida beach. Themedia picked up on the story and over-night shark sightings became internationalnews, culminating with the cover of Timemagazine heralding it as the “Summer ofthe Shark”. In fact, there were 13 fewerattacks worldwide than the year before,and that same year, only four humandeaths were linked to shark bites com-pared to 13 in 2000. Secondly, one mustremember that “cheese” is inexpensiveand is being used by a population likely tobe relatively naive in respect to opiateuse, both intellectually and pharmacologi-cally. These factors notwithstanding,there may in fact be a greater lethalityassociated with this mixture than that ofthe heroin itself. While much attention inthe media seems to have been focused onthe acetaminophen in the “cheese” mix-ture, it is, of course, the diphenhydraminethat is of more concern. Diphenhy-dramine is an antihistamine with CNSdepressing properties; this alone wouldsuggest an additive effect to the symp-toms of opiate intoxication. However, ithas long been this author’s opinion thatthe diphenhydramine in the “cheese” mix-ture potentiates the effects of the heroin,thus increasing its lethality. Those of uswho have been around awhile will re-member “T’s and Blues”, which was the

In 2005, “Cheese” emerged as amajor problem in the Dallas, Texas areawhere at least 21 deaths have been attrib-uted to its use, most of the victims beingteenagers.

The death of Karla Becerra, an18-year-old woman, attributed by policeto snorting “cheese” and drinking alcohol,was one of the earliest published cases. Asenior at L. G. Pinkston High School,Becerra was found dead by her father intheir West Dallas home on April 24,2006. On November 1 of that year, 17-year-old Keith "Tooter" Witherspoon diedin nearby Mesquite. The following monthThe Dallas Morning News profiledWitherspoon as "the first Dallas-areayouth publicly known to have died of aheroin overdose since the “cheese” con-cerns were raised." The death was alsonotable because Mesquite is locatedsoutheast of Dallas, indicating the prob-lem had moved beyond its origins in thenorthwest quadrant of the city.

Oscar Gutierrez, a 15-year oldeighth grader at Dallas' Marsh MiddleSchool, died February 18, 2007, of a“cheese” overdose, the first middle-schooldeath in published accounts. Gutierrez'brother, who tried to wake him duringthat morning, stated that the boy hadoverdosed on “cheese” on a previous oc-casion. Community rallies followedGutierrez' death as parents and othersurged the police and school district tobecome more active in fighting what wasviewed as a growing problem.

Another death, on March 31st,the following month, of Fernando CortezJr., a Molina High School student, alsoled to community activism. Cortez’s fa-ther said his son was at a Dallas partywhere he was given drugs. Initially thisdeath was linked to “cheese” heroin onthe father's comments in press reports.

Although the Dallas school dis-trict would not comment on the death,two DISD security officers attended thefuneral, where they spoke to FernandoCortez, Sr., and his wife. Cortez Sr., a

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street name for the co-administration ofpentazocine, an opioid, and tripelenna-mine, an antihistamine. The action of thetripelennamine was to potentiate the effectsof the pentazocine. Furthermore, we areall familiar with the common clinical useof hydroxyzine, an antihistamine, to poten-tiate meperidine, an opioid. My opinion inthis matter is not without basis, as evi-denced by scholarly articles describing thepotentiation capabilities of antihistaminesincluding diphenhydramine as far back as1982. Some of these may be found in thereferences that follow.

Regardless of its lethality, eitherreal or imagined, “cheese” is making newsin North Texas, and as these things tend todo, “cheese” will likely become an issueacross the country.

References:1. Cheese (recreational drug), http://

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese_(recreational_drug)

2. Deadly $2 heroin targets teens, http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/12/cheese.heroin/index.html

3. Survey: ‘Shark summer’ bred fear,not facts, http://www.cnn.com /2003/TECH/science/03/13/shark.study/

4. ‘Cheese’ crisis runs deep, http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/ dws/dnlatestnewsstories/041507dnmetcheese.38c8f36.html

5. Bluhm R, Zsigmond EK, WinnieAP, Potentiation of Opioid Analgesia by H1 and H2 Antagonists.Life Sciences, Vol 31, pp 1229-1232, 1982

6. Carr KD, Hiller JM, Simon EJ,Diphenydramine PotentiatesNarcotic but not EndogenousOpioid Analgesia. Neuropep-tides, 5, pp 411-414, 1985

7. Leza JC, Lizasoain I, Lorenzo P,Effects of antihistaminics onnaloxone-induced withdrawal inmorphine-dependent mice.Psychopharmacology, Vol 102,pp 106-111, 1990

8. Poling A, Sewell RG, Gallus JA,Nearchov NI, Lethality ofOpioid and AntihistamineCombinations in Mice.Pharmacol Biochem Behav,Vol 22, pp 333-335, 1985

Page 7

D R U G S I N T H E N E W S ( C O N T I N U E D )

Article layout, digital mechanics, gram-matical editing, and graphic assistancefor ToxTalk provided by volunteer stu-dents, David Watts and Kayla Fulmer.

S U N S H I N E / R I E D E R S S I L E N T A U C T I O N I IThe passing in 2006 of two

prominent leaders in the forensic toxicol-ogy field, Dr. Fredric Rieders and Dr. Ir-ving Sunshine, prompted a silent auctionmemorial event at last year’s annual meet-ing in Austin that was entertaining andenjoyable for all.

To carry on their lifelong commit-ments of encouraging education in the fo-rensic toxicology field, S.O.F.T. meetingorganizers have decided to turn the Sun-shine / Rieders Silent Auction event into an

annual tradition. The silent auction willkeep the Sunshine and Rieders names aliveand fund student enrichment programs intothe future.

The 2007 meeting in Raleigh,North Carolina will present the Sunshine /Rieders Silent Auction II. Our generousexhibitors have each agreed to donate anitem for auction. Contributions from indi-viduals are also encouraged and will beaccepted through the registration desk on-site. One hundred percent of the proceeds

will be used to encourage academic train-ing and research in areas related to foren-sic toxicology.

W E L C O M E N E W S . O. F.T. M E M B E R S

The 2007 Membership Committeehas been an active group, reviewing over52 applications for membership so far thisyear! Recognition is conveyed to associ-ates of this very hard working committee:Anthony Costantino (Chair), Peter Stout,Jennifer Limoges, and Rebecca Jufer -Phipps. As of this writing, our member-ship roster stands at 880!

Welcome to our newest membersof S.O.F.T. listed here. Many of thesescientists will attend our annual meetingfor the first time in October and will nodoubt experience not only an amazing sci-entific program but also have the time oftheir life!

Eric AlexyKeith Anding

Eric BakerCiena BayardSabra BotchToni BroomeJoe Ellington

Timothy FassetteVeronica Ferguson

Tom FreijoKathryn FullerLana GoodsonWaseem Gul

David GumminJenifer Hall

Melissa HancockLinda Harty

Rachel IrvingSubbarao Kala

Moss KentAmy Kinkennon

Sean KocurElena Kuzmina-Kok

Wanda MarleyMeredith Meaders

Jessica MehanPatrick Minno

Timothy MurphyDonna NemethDavid Nemeth

Kenneth Olejar, Jr.Michelle Paladino

Jean-Paul PalmentierCody Peer

Alyssa PursellSunny Rodhey

Patricia SchantzMichael Scott-HamRana SumandeepKristina Takeshita

Sarah UrferJoseph WatsonJeremy Weis

Ann YangMichael Zumwalt

C A S E N O T E S : # 1M I X E D P R E S C R I P T I O N D R U G D E AT H

George F. Jackson, Ph.D., William A. Dunn, M.S., Zhongxue Hua, M.D., Ph.D., E.H.A. Institute of Forensic Science

State Toxicology Laboratory and Regional Medical Examiner’s Office, Newark, NJ

The decedent was discoveredin his residence with early decomposi-tion after failing to report to work as anaccountant. Scene investigation founda fentanyl lollipop inside his shirtpocket as well as crushed pill frag-ments scattered on the floor and table.Multiple bottles of prescription oxy-codone and alprazolam, some emptyand others nearly full, were located atthe scene. Autopsy revealed hyperten-sive cardiovascular disease and focalbronchopneumonia, and both were notconsidered to be medically significant.Comprehensive analysis was per-formed on various postmortem tissues,including femoral blood, urine, bile,vitreous fluid, stomach content, brain,liver, kidney, lung and spleen.

All submitted tissues were sub-ject to standard analytical screening andmass spectrometry confirmation proto-cols. Positive findings of the analysisare as follows:

BloodOxycodone 1.86mgLOxymorphone 0.072 mg/LFentanyl 64 mcg/L

LiverOxycodone 1.83 mg/KgOxymorphone 0.12 mg/KgFentanyl 96 mcg/Kg

Stomach ContentsTotal weight received: 244 gmsOxycodone 147 mg/KgOxymorphon 0.62 mg/KgFentanyl 3648 mcg/Kg

UrineOxycodone 5.82 mg/LOxymorphone 0.36 mg/LFentanyl 890 mcg/La-hydroxyalprazolam 1.60 mg/LAlprazolam 0.35 mg/L

C A S E N O T E SSubmitted by Section Editor, Matthew Barnhill, Ph.D.

Please send interesting “Case Notes” to Section Editor, Matthew Barnhill, Ph.D. at mbarnhilljr@worldnet.att.net

Actiq, the oral delivery system of fen-tanyl citrate comes in different flavorsand strengths of lollipops.

Oxycodone—

The chemical struc-ture of Alprazolamand the pharmaceuti-cal packaging of the2mg tablets.

This laboratory has been de-tecting an increase in the prevalence ofmultiple prescribed opioid compoundsin drug related postmortem cases. Inmost of our cases, the decedents have ahistory of taking prescription medica-tions for pain relief.

We present a case of post-mortem analysis of a 36 year old singlewhite male who consumed Oxycontin,Xanax and Actiq (fentanyl lollipop).

The decedent had morbid obesity (BMIof 46) with a long history of lowerback pain for at least 6 years. His clini-cal work-up for his lower back painwas inconclusive, although a spinalsurgery for disc fusion was suggestedat one point. He was known to visitvarious pain clinics and acquired pre-scription Actiq for at least 18 months.Per multiple co-workers, he demon-strated a typical pattern of opioid com-pound addiction which interfered withhis job performance significantly. Dur-ing his last year, he was admitted twiceto a local rehabilitation center for hisaddition to Oxycontin and Xanax. Ofnote, per multiple co-workers and fam-ily members, the decedent had no priorsuicidal ideation or attempts.

Page 8 Volume 31 , Issue 3

Oxycontintablets invaryingstrengths.

C A S E N O T E S : # 2M E D I C A L M I S A D V E N T U R E : S T E R O I D I N D U C E D T O X I C I T Y

A N D A S S O C I AT E D P S Y C H O S I S – A C A S E S T U D Y

Michael Robertson, Ph.D., Senior Consultant, Forensic Toxicologist,

Independent Forensic Consulting (www.ifcforensics.com.au) Victoria, Australia

This case involves a middle-aged,Caucasian female with no prior history ofpsychiatric illness. In early February 2005,following an injury to her back, this indi-vidual first sought medical attention at herlocal general practitioner. As a result ofthis consultation she was administered anepidural injection (triamcinalone), and wasprescribed Panadeine Forte (codeine andacetaminophen), Voltaren (diclofenac),diazepam and sent home.

A few days later (February 8th)and without significant relief from thepain, she was admitted into hospital forfurther treatment of back pain and whilstan inpatient received acetaminophen, di-clofenac, diazepam, amitriptyline(Tryptanol), morphine and metoprolol.

On the same day she was alsostarted on a regime of dexamethasone,presumably to reduce inflammation how-ever the exact reasons remain unclear andwere not documented in the medical re-cords.

Her prescribed regime of dexa-methasone during her stay in hospital wasas follows:

February 8th until February 13th –

4 mg orally, four times a day

i.e. 16 mg per day

February 14th until February 18th –

3 mg orally, four times a day

i.e. 12 mg per day

On February 14th she was releasedfrom the hospital, however, in the hoursprior to her discharge she began exhibitingsigns of irrational behavior. She was ob-served to be pacing around the ward, teary,vague, and when picked up from hospitalwas fearful and did not want to enter herfriend’s car, making statements such as‘everything is wrong’ and repeatedly call-ing out ‘Dad’. In the days following, thisirrational behavior progressed further intoparanoia, agitation, disorganized speechand thought and ultimately psychosesprompting re-admission into a second hos-pital on February 18th. Upon admission

into the second hospital she was assessedas being acutely psychotic. This wassuspected to be dexamethasone-relatedat which point dexamethasone was with-drawn and replaced with the anti-psychotic medication chlorpromazine.She remained in the hospital for psychi-atric treatment until 5th March at whichtime her psychotic behavior had im-proved significantly and she was subse-quently released.

Corticosteroids are often usedin the treatment of pulmonary diseasessuch as COPD, multiple-sclerosis, aller-gies (e.g. asthma), rheumatoid arthritistogether with many other conditions.Dexamethasone is a potent syntheticcorticosteroid with both anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressiveactions. The prescribing directions fororal dexamethasone in non-life threaten-ing conditions are 0.5 mg to 10 mg perday with an ideal maintenance dose of0.5 to 1 mg daily. Dexamethasone is fatsoluble and hence has a large volume ofdistribution (Vd) and a long biologicalhalf life (up to 50 hours) and thereforetends to accumulate within the body ifgiven chronically. As a result, adversereactions following chronic therapy maytake many days or weeks to resolve uponcessation of therapy. Adverse reactionsof dexamethasone taken orally includebut are not limited to adrenocortical in-sufficiency, immunosuppression, cardio-renal, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletaland neuro-psychiatric reactions.

Corticosteroid-induced neuro-psychiatric reactions have been docu-mented in patients being treated with arange of corticosteroids including dexa-methasone, cortisone, prednisolone andmethylprednisolone . The likelihood andmagnitude of these reactions are knownto be dose related and usually occurs inthe first 10 days of treatment 3. Theytend to occur more often in women thanmen, presenting often as either an acutemanic or depressive episode, accompa-nied by delusions and/or hallucinations 2

3. In the majority of cases the neuro-

psychiatric adverse reactions resolve uponcessation of therapy 2 5.

In this case study the patient wasinitially prescribed 16 mg per day for 6days before being reduced to 12 mg perday for another 5 days, a dose significantlyhigher than the recommended highest dosethe reasons for which are unclear. The con-sequence of such high doses is an increasein both the likelihood and magnitude ofadverse events. This individual was firstobserved to be demonstrating ‘unusual’behavior 6 days after starting the dexa-methasone treatment. Her mental state fur-ther deteriorated whilst at home in the daysfollowing release from the hospital. Shewas re-admitted to the hospital, assessed asacutely psychotic and her dexamethasonemedication withdrawn and replaced withthe anti-psychotic medication with subse-quent resolution of her psychotic behavior.

Although biological samples werenot available for analysis in this case study,it is clear from the treatment history, pro-gression of symptoms and resolution ofsymptoms upon withdrawal of dexa-methasone, that this was indeed a case ofdexamethasone induced neuro-psychiatricadverse reactions. This case study high-lights the need for toxicologists to beaware of these types of psychotic-reactionsin patients being treated with corticoster-oids, particularly if co-administered withantidepressants and other medications withthe potential to cause psychoses.

References:1. Praharaj, SK. Koro and Psychosis Following

Steroid Abuse. German J Psych, 2004. Vol7, pp. 49 – 50

2. Braunig, P. and Bleistein, J. Cortisone-induced Psychoses. Nervenarzt, 1988. Vol59, pp. 596 – 602

3. Perry, PJ, et al. Prednisolone Psychosis:Clinical Observations. Drug Intell ClinPharm, 1984. Vol 18, pp. 603 – 9

4. Lee, KM, et al. Steroid-induced acute psy-chosis in a child with asthma: report of onecase. Acta Paediatr Taiwan, 2001. Vol 43,pp. 169 – 71

5. Klien, JF. Adverse psychiatric effects ofsystemic glugocorticoid therapy. Am FamPhysician, 1992. Vol 46, pp 1469 – 74

ToxTalk Page 9

Page 10 Volume 31, Issue 3

N E W D R U GH Y D R O X O C O B A L A M I N ( C YA N O K I T

® )

Joseph E. Manno, Ph.D., Professor-Dept. Emergency Medicine/Clinical Toxicology,

L.S.U. Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, Louisiana 71130-3932

Cyanokit®1 (hydroxocobalamin forInjection, 5g) has recently been approved bythe FDA for the treatment of Cyanide poi-soning in a non-hospital setting. Cyanokit®

is marketed by Bound Tree Medical(www.boundtree.com) at a list price of$795.00/unit.

The drug has been used in Europefor over 10 years and is a life saving anti-dote for cyanide poisoning when adminis-tered rapidly after exposure2. In animalstudies, the drug reduced the cyanide levelby 55% by the end of a 15 minute infusion3.Because it is supplied as a lyophilized pow-der with a shelf life of 30 months, it can alsobe stockpiled for use in terror related massattacks1. The very low toxicity of hy-droxocobalamin allows it to be administeredby paramedics at the scene and it will con-sequently help save many lives of victims offire related cyanide poisoning. Its mostcommon adverse reactions are mild andinclude chromaturia (red-colored urine),erythema, rash, increased blood pressure,nausea, headache, injection site reactionsand decreased lymphocyte percent4. Wheninjected into a cyanide poisoned patient,hydroxocobalamin will combine with Cya-nide to form Cyanocobalamin (VitaminB12). This chelation limits the toxicity ofcyanide by preventing it from combiningwith cytochrome a3 and the subsequent in-terference with cellular respiration anddeath. This hydroxocobalamin - cyanidereaction occurs within several minutes5.During eight years of use in Paris, France,prehospital administration of hydroxoco-balamin for smoke inhalation-associatedcyanide poisoning resulted in the survival of30 out of 101 (41.7%) patients administeredthe drug2. The low risk/ benefit of hy-droxocobalamin suggest its beneficial usefor fire victims suspected of cyanide inhala-tion. However, it apparently may not re-verse the toxicity of tissue bound cyanide orsubsequent death from tissue anoxia and/ormetabolic acidosis in all cases1,5.

The chemical structure of hy-droxocobalamin and Cyanocobalamin areshown in Figure 1. Although hydroxoco-balamin has been shown to be a life saving

antidote for fire victims when administeredat the scene, all victims do not survive ifenough cyanide has left the blood and isbound to tissue where it produces its toxic-ity2,5. Consequently, for hydroxocobala-min treated non-survivors, there are severalfactors that will likely complicate the inter-pretation of death causation by ForensicPathologists and Toxicologists. Thesefactors are listed below.

Physical Chemistry: Hydroxoco-balamin is red in color and its administra-tion can cause the person to take on a redcolor. It absorbs light with a peak at 352and 532 nm and has been shown that itinterferes with cooximetry measurementsof COHb, MetHb and HbO26.

Pharmacokinetics: Hydroxoco-balamin in smoke inhalation victims hasthe following pharmacokinetics:

Volume of Distribution: 0.45 L/Kg –suggests that it is distributed extracellularlyand would not be expected to rapidly re-move cyanide already bound to tissue cyto-chrome.

Distribution half-life: 1.86h

Elimination half-life: 26.2 hrs.

Renal and total body clearance is 0.31and 0.83 L/h respectively.

Since Cyanide would be sequested inblood, levels would be high, but would notreflect what was actually in tissue. Homoge-nizing tissue also would not be acceptable fordetermining true intracellular cyanide levels.7

Clinical Chemistry: Hydroxoco-balamin also interferes with clinical chemis-try laboratory values of aspartate aminotrans-ferase, total bilirubin, creatinine, magnesiumand iron8.

Despite these potential complica-tions, it should be pointed out that simplydrawing one tube of blood before hydroxoco-balamin administration would eliminate theseproblems. Such a protocol might be imple-mented with the Paramedic medical directorsince the drug is administered intravenouslyand withdrawing a single tube of bloodwould not delay treatment significantly1.

References:

1. Cyanokit® Package Insert. Available fromwww.boundree.com website.

2. Fortin, Jean-Luc, et al. Prehospital Admini-stration of Hydroxocobalamin for SmokeInhalation-Associated Cyanide Poisoning: 8years of Experience in the Paris Fire Bri-gade. Clin. Toxi., 44:37-44, 2006.

3. Borron, Stephen W., et al. Efficacy of Hy-droxocobalamin for the Treatment of AcuteCyanide Poisoning in Adult Beagle Dogs.Clin. Toxi. 44:5-15, 2006

4. Uhl, Wolfgang, et al. Safety of Hydroxocobala-min in Healthy Volunteers in a Randomized,Placebo-Controlled Study. Clin. Toxi. 44:17-28, 2006

5. Houeto, P., et al. Relation of blood Cyanide toPlasma Cyanocobalamin concentration aftera fixed dose of hydroxocobalamin in CyanidePoisoning. Lancet, 36:605, 1995.

6. Lee, Jangwoen, et al. Potential Interference byHydroxocobalamin on Cooximetry Hemoglo-bin Measurements During Cyanide andSmoke Inhalation Treatments. Annals ofEmergency Medicine, 49:802-805, 2007

7. Borron, Houeto, et al. Pharmacokinetics ofhydroxocobalamin in smoke inhalation vic-tims. Toxicol Clin Toxicol, 4:397-404, 1996

8. Curry, S.C., et al. Effect of the cyanide antidotehydroxocobalamin on commonly orderedserum chemistry tests. Ann Emerg Med24:65-7 1994.

Figure 1: When R is CN, compound is VitaminB12 (cyanocobalamin); When R is 0H, com-

pound is Hydroxocobalamin (active componentof Cyanokit®).

Submitted by Section Editor, Dan Anderson, M.S.

Tox Talk Page 11

M E M B E R N E W S

Two University of MarylandSchool of Pharmacy graduates turnedtoxicologists were recently honored inthe schools magazine, Capsule. Yale H.Caplan and Alphonse Poklis were fea-tured in an article entitled “Using Fo-rensic Tools to Solve Tough Puzzles inToxicology” that is excerpted below.

The ability to think critically isa crucial component of any science edu-cation. For the two alumni the develop-ment of that ability led them to careersfar off the beaten path. Through thefield of forensic toxicology-developingdrug and alcohol tests and procedures todetermine the cause or causes of death-Yale H. Caplan, Ph.D. ’68, BSP ’63, hasspent most of his career solving phar-macological puzzles. FollowingCaplan’s forensic footsteps a few yearslater, was Alphonse Poklis, Ph.D. ’74,BSP ’69, -- both became nationally re-nowned toxicologists, educators, andconsultants.

When Caplan and Poklis re-ceived their doctoral degrees, the fieldof forensic toxicology was focused pri-marily on postmortem toxicology. Inthe Office of the Chief Medical Exam-iner, it was Caplan’s job to identify poi-sons-everything from industrial chemi-cals to illegal drugs-in the bodies of thedeceased through toxicological testingof blood, urine, hair, and tissue samples,

Yale H. Caplan and Alphonse Poklis—Two Marylanders Honoredand to confer with the medical examin-ers in determining the cause of death.In many cases, Caplan would combthrough case histories to determinewhether drugs and alcohol were in-volved. He worked under Henry Fre-imuth, a pioneer in the field. But atage 32, just five years after he startedas an assistant toxicologist, he wasmade Chief Toxicologist, a position hekept until moving to a private labora-tory in 1991. “Pharmacy, chemistry,biology-I have used them all. It was acomprehensive education that provideda high-reaching ladder of opportunity,”he says.

It is the same ladder that Poklisclimbed to become a forensic toxicolo-gist who consults and lectures on toxi-cology issues for organizations thatinclude the FBI Academy. These days,Poklis is a professor of pathology atVirginia Commonwealth University(VCU) and affiliate professor for fo-rensic science, chemistry, and pharma-cology. Like Caplan, Poklis studiedtoxicology at the OCME in Baltimoreunder Freimuth and received his doc-torate degree in forensic toxicology in1974 from the University of Maryland.He spent a large part of his career instate offices of the medical examiner inDelaware, North Dakota, and Missouri,analyzing medical evidence in homi-cide cases and testifying in court.

A rash of homicides in St.Louis in the mid-1970’s landed Poklison the witness stand in a number ofcases, including arsenic and thalliumpoisonings. By looking at emergencyroom records in one Los Angeles case,Poklis was able to determine how andwhere a woman continuously poisonedher husband with oleander, and eventu-ally killed him with a lethal dose ofantifreeze.

The key to giving testimony ismaking science understood saysCaplan. He took that approach 20years ago when he was put in charge ofdetermining how Len Bias, the Univer-

sity of Maryland basketball star died.The death called one of sports’ mostshocking tragedies, spurred a flurry ofcontroversy. “Everyone wanted to findan alternative to the idea that Bias in-haled cocaine,” says Caplan. An emptysoda can found at the death scene andtrace amounts of cocaine in Bias’ stom-ach gave rise to speculation that he wasgiven cocaine without his knowledge.However, tests on the can found notrace of the drug while cocaine wasfound on a straw. Caplan determinedthat the amount of cocaine found inBias’ stomach was consistent with whatcould have been deposited simply byinhaling the drug.

“It’s a matter of understandingthe science and letting the science tellthe truth,” Caplan says.

Poklis, who runs the VCUmedical center toxicology laboratory,considers himself lucky to have beenable to mix research with practice andteaching.

“I love working with youngpeople,” said Poklis. “They keep youyoung.”

Caplan agrees. “They are yourlegacy,” he says. “The students are themajor contribution; you really live onthrough them.”

The Capsule, Fall 2006

Alphonse Poklis, Ph.D. is a professor ofpathology at the VCU Medical CenterToxicology Laboratory.

Yale H. Caplan, Ph.D. is a nationallyrenowned toxicology consultant.

Future S.O.F.T. Meeting Info

2007: Chapel Hill, NC…………..Oct. 15-19, 2007……….….. Jeri Ropero-Miller, Ruth Winecker

2008: Phoenix, AZ……………....Oct. 27-31, 2008………………….Vickie Watts, Norman Wade

2009: Oklahoma City, OK………Oct. 18-23, 2009…………………...………………...Phil Kemp

2010: Richmond, VA…………………………….……………..Michelle Peace, Lisa Tarnai Moak

2011: San Francisco, CA…………………………………………..…..……………Nikolas Lemos

2012: Boston, MA……………………………………...………………….………Michael Wagner

S . O . F. T. 2 0 0 8 : P H O E N I X , A R I Z O N A

2 0 0 7 S . O . F. T. C O M M I T T E E C H A I R S

Committee Committee Chair

Nominating……………………………………Timothy Rohrig, Ph.D., DABFTMembership………………………. ………….Anthony Costantino, Ph.D., DABFTBudget, Finance, and Audit…………………...Robert Turk, Ph.D., DABFTToxTalk Co-Editors…………………………...Yale Caplan, Ph.D., DABFT

Vickie Watts, M.S.ByLaws………………………………………..Yale Caplan, Ph.D., DABFTPublications (JAT Special Issue) ……………..Sarah Kerrigan, Ph.D.Awards...………………………………………Philip Kemp, Ph.D., DABFTDrugs & Driving………………………………Sarah Kerrigan, Ph.D.Meeting Resource……………………………..Christine Moore, Ph.D., DABCCLaboratory Guidelines………………………...W. Lee Hearn, Ph,D.Policy and Procedure………………………….William Anderson, Ph.D.SOFT Internet Web-Site………………………Bruce Goldberger, Ph.D., DABFTContinuing Education…………………………Ann Marie Gordon, M.S.Ethics………………………………………….Aaron Jacobs, Ph.D.Drug Facilitated Rape & Sexual Assault……...Marc LeBeau, Ph.D.MS/MS Guidelines……….……………………John Cody, Ph.D.

ToxTalk Deadlines for Contributions:

February 1 for March Issue

May 1 for June Issue

August 1 for September Issue

November 1 for December Issue

October is the best time of theyear to be in Phoenix. High temperaturesare in the 70’s. Golf courses are prime,lakes and forests are only an hour driveaway. Idle hours can be spent in casinos,horseback riding, at the racecar track, orsimply lounging around the pool.

October 2009 will take S.O.F.T.members to America’s heartland. Okla-homa City is proud of it’s plentiful medicalschools, mild climate, and beautiful urbanparks.

Oklahoma CityMeeting Host, Philip

Kemp is putting together another entertain-ing and educational conference for SOFTmembers to experience.

S . O . F T. 2 0 0 9 :O K L A H O M A C I T Y

The 2008 SOFT Annual Meetingwill be held at the PointeSouth Mountain Resort, aluxury facility located atthe base of the SouthMountain Preserve; alsothe perfect location for thehiking / biking adventurer.Since every reservation atthe resort is a two roomsuite, why not make plansto bring the whole familyand restructure the confer-

ence into a fun vacation for all. There arenearby zoos, parks, muse-ums, theatres, shoppingmalls, sport stadiums, evenhot air balloon rides. Thescientific sessions, work-shops, exhibits, and meet-ings will be the reason youvisit Phoenix, but the Ari-zona lifestyle is what willmake your stay memorable.There will be no need forneckties!

®

S.O.F.T. Administrative OfficeOne Macdonald Center1 N. Macdonald St., Suite 15Mesa, AZ 85201

Phone: 888-866-SOFT (7638)Fax: 480-839-9106E-mail: ToxTalk@soft-tox.org

Office@soft-tox.org

Society of ForensicTox icolog ists , Inc.

ToxTalk is the official publication of the Society of Forensic Toxicologists, Inc., mailedquarterly (bulk mail) to its members. It is each member’s responsibility to report changesof address to the SOFT Administrative Office. Non-members may receive ToxTalk for $15per calendar year. Checks payable to SOFT may be mailed to the SOFT AdministrativeOffice. To submit articles or address ToxTalk issues please email to ToxTalk@soft-tox.org.

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