NCJ Number
130218
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 36 Issue: 3 Dated: (May 1991) Pages: 866-879
Date Published
1991
Length
14 pages
Annotation
The purity and additive content of street samples of heroin and amphetamine available on the Danish blackmarket in 1987 through 1989 was determined.
Abstract
All samples, 102 heroin and 120 amphetamines, were analyzed by both gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. The mean concentrations of the heroin and amphetamine samples were 34 and 35 percent, respectively. However, the purity of both drugs varied considerably. Seventy-four percent of the samples were diluted with sugars, most commonly lactose, glucose, and mannitol. Caffeine and phenobarbital were frequent additives. Methaqualone was encountered in a third of the heroin base samples. Other additives included nicotinamide, paracetamol, phenazone, procaine, and ascorbic acid. Half of the heroin samples were heroin base, whereas the other half were heroin chloride. In the provincial towns, the brown sample of heroin base containing large amounts of opium alkaloids dominated whereas in Copenhagen, the white/beige sample containing heroin chloride with little or no papaverine or noscapine were frequently seized. This difference in quality of heroin indicates different import routes for heroin to the eastern and western part of Denmark. 2 figures, 3 tables, and 18 references (Author abstract modified)