Medical-Legal Aspects of Abused Substances: Old & NewLicit & Illicit [Hardcover]

Ph.D. Marcelline Burnes (Author), M.A. Thomas E. Page (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 26, 2005

If you regularly handle cases involving substance abuse or need information on newly compounded substances, as well as re-discovered drugs of abuse such as Ecstasy, Meth, PCP, Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate, otherwise know as the "Date Rape Drug", and Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids popular with today’s athletes, this is your reference of choice. It has extensive chapters devoted to the above substances as well as others.

The authors discuss the role of law enforcement officers in abused substance cases, double standards in enforcing substance abuse laws, driving under the influence of drugs as opposed to alcohol, and legal and prosecution perspectives regarding this type of case. This book contains much valuable information and is a must for anyone who regularly deals with prosecuting or defending substance abuse cases.

The authors also present case studies of Turkey and Australia’s laws pertaining to abused substances and driving, and how they were developed. This information is particularly valuable to those involved in the creation of substance abuse legislation, here in the US and around the world.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

This book continues a discourse that was begun with Medical-Legal Aspects of Drugs (Burns, 2003). As can be noted by the chapter titles, however, the topics extend beyond drugs that have been widely misused and abused over time. The authors discuss newly compounded substances, as well as re-discovered drugs of abuse. Scientific knowledge about a substance typically lags behind the need-to-know within the criminal justice system and the treatment community. It is only when a particular drug becomes a significant problem and citizens demand attention to the problem that adequate funds become available for research and treatment. Thus, data from rigorous scientific study often do not exist for new or newly popular drugs. Nonetheless, on a daily basis law enforcement, the courts, and many others in the community confront the consequences of drug use-whether old or new, licit or illicit. Professionals who deal with drug users have written this book. They include police officers, defense attorney, pharmacologist, police physician, prosecutor, psychologist, and toxicologist. Their platforms of expertise are the laboratory, the courtroom, and the streets. Their perspectives are international. They are truly from the front line of the drug problems that are worldwide in scope. They obtained much of the information that they share with the reader from their daily responsibilities. Their limited bibliographies reflect not carelessness but reality; in many cases, there are few if any scientific studies to be cited. We truly are indebted to the authors for their contributions. We acknowledge their generosity of time and effort, especially since some expressed misgivings about their writing skills and others continued to write during periods of great personal stress. We also thank our assistant, Jené Moio, without whose skills we could not have persevered.

Marcelline Burns Thomas E. Page

About the Author

Marcelline Burns, Ph.D. earned degrees in Psychology from San Diego State University, California State University, Los Angeles, and the University of California, Irvine. In 2003 she retired from the Southern California Research Institute where she studied the effects of alcohol and other drugs on human performance for three decades. She and colleagues developed the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs), and she subsequently conducted laboratory and field studies of both the SFSTs and Drug Recognition Expert methods. She lectures, trains, and provides expert testimony on the effects of alcohol and drugs.

Thomas E. Page, M.A. earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Industrial Psychology and a Master of Arts degree in Urban Studies from the University of Detroit. He participated in the initial development of the Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) training curriculum and was Officer-in-charge of the Los Angeles Police Department’s DRE unit form 1990 to 1999. He served as the General Chairperson of the International Association of Chiefs of Police DRE Section and as a member of that organization’s DRE Technical Advisory Panel. Courts in fifteen states have found him qualified to give testimony as a drug expert.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Lawyers & Judges Publishing Company, Inc. (July 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930056834
• ISBN-13: 978-1930056831
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,710,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)