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Publication date: 08.05.2024

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Editing: Kinga Techmańska, Anna Sałatarow-Kraciuk
Page layout and typesetting: Krzysztof Adamski
Cover design: Piotr K. Holinej

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ORIGINAL PAPERS

Dr Anna Trynda, Anna Duszyńska, Adam Frankowski, Grzegorz Pawluczuk

Problems of Forensic Sciences, 136, 2023, pp. 283-294

https://doi.org/10.4467/12307483PFS.23.016.19623
The aim of this article is to present the issues of forensic examination of medical marijuana, taking into account possible limitations in forensic expertise and issues related to the material remaining after vaporization. An example, which illustrates the research and procedure to confirm the compliance of the chemical composition of the questioned substance, confiscated during a home search by the police, with the provision on prescriptions for an individual patient, is presented.
The issue of medical marijuana vaporization as well as controversy which may arise from the remaining material with high concentration of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), both in relations to its utilizing as well as possible storage of the remaining marijuana by the patient is considered. The obtained results shows the possibility to determine the concentration of key cannabinoids: CBD and THC in questioned dried hemp and comparison with prescription values. Therefore, it is possible to support law enforcement authorities in proceedings related to dried hemp, in particular to distinct whether cannabis are medicinal products declared on prescriptions or packages, or it is a drug prohibited by law. An additional issue that has arisen during the research is the need of regulations to the material remaining after vaporization of medical marihuana to protect patients from the allegation of possession of illegal substance.
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Piotr Juda, Dawid Pajor, Łukasz Wójcik, Anna Kaczmarska, Milena Nowak, Tomasz Konopka

Problems of Forensic Sciences, 136, 2023, pp. 295-305

https://doi.org/10.4467/12307483PFS.23.017.19624
Aim: The study aimed to analyse the most common injuries of victims of aviation accidents and compare it with the most recent literature.

Methods and materials: Retrospective analysis of autopsy protocols of aircraft crash victims from the Forensic Medicine Department from years 2002–2022. The case selection has been made by two independent researchers. After applying the exclusion criteria 27 cases were obtained. Further searched for features that the bodies of victims had in common. There were analysed sex, age, circumstances of the incident, injuries, presence of psychoactive substances (alcohol, drugs), and blood concentration
of carboxyhemoglobin.

Results: Among 27 cases we found 19 airplane crashes, 4 glider accidents, 3 motor glider accidents, and one helicopter crash. The 1 case had no information about the type of aircraft. The injuries that emerged in each of the victims were typical results of direct impact forces. The most common were rupture of the lungs 63.0 % (n = 17/27), heart 55.6% (n = 15/27), liver 51.9% (n = 14/27), aorta 40.7% (n = 11/27) and spleen 29.6% (n = 8/27). Common bone traumas included fractures of the ribs 77.8% (n = 21/27) upper limbs 77.8% (n = 21/27), skull 74.1% (n = 20/27), pelvis 59.3% (n = 16/27) and spine 51.9% (n = 14/27). Injuries of the cervical spine occurred in victims who violently tilted their heads back.

Conclusions: In most cases, the immediate cause of death was extensive multi-organ injuries, followed by thermal burns or brain injuries. In almost half of the victims, the presence of carboxyhemoglobin in the blood indicates that they were alive during the crashes. Knowledge of injury patterns can improve aviation safety and guide in reconstructing the mechanisms and sequences of the accidents.
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Karolina Masier, Karolina Sekuła, Bogumiła Byrska, Roman Stanaszek, Wioleta Wrzesień-Tokarczyk

Problems of Forensic Sciences, 136, 2023, pp. 307-319

https://doi.org/10.4467/12307483PFS.23.018.19625

Cannabis is the most widely used drug. in recent years, interest in cannabis has grown significantly. over the last decade, the number of cannabis users worldwide has increased by almost 21%, reaching approximately 219 million people in 2021. Can- nabis cultivation covers practically all regions of the world. In recent years, 151 countries have reported cannabis cultivation, both outdoors and indoors. The increased growth of the latter is particularly observed in North America and Europe. Global data shows that in 2021, 5,226 tons of marihuana and 2,014 tons of hashish were confiscated. an increase in seizures of can- nabis products is observed in Europe and Poland. Another trend concerns the increasing content of the psychoactive substance Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) in cannabis plants. According to UNODC data, over the last 25 years there has been a 4-fold increase in the content of Δ9-THc in cannabis. over the last decade, the average content of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol in marihua- na seized in europe has increased approximately twice, and in hashish three times.

The aim of this work is to assess potential changes in the content of the main psychoactive ingredients in cannabis in Poland in the last decade (2012–2022), based on expert opinions developed by the Institute of Forensic research in Kraków. The conduct- ed analyses confirmed the trends observed around the world. in the last ten years, the number of cases in which the drug-type cannabis was detected increased from 5.3% to 68.4% of total number of illicit drug cases examined for the presence of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and new psychoactive substances. an increasing trend in the content of Δ9-THC in the drug-type cannabis was also noted. over the last decade, the average total content of Δ9-THC increased almost three times and in 2022 reached 12%. This is due to the growth of cannabis cultivation in Europe, carried out using the technique known as sinsemilla, genetic modifications, as well as the appearance on the market of the feminized cannabis seeds.

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Dominika Jama, Karolina Sekuła, Dariusz Zuba

Problems of Forensic Sciences, 136, 2023, pp. 321-340

https://doi.org/10.4467/12307483PFS.23.019.19626
In order to check their sobriety after drinking alcohol, drivers can use applications available online that perform prospective estimation of alcohol content, called ‘alcomat online’ or ‘BA C calculators’.
The aim of the study was to analyse the method of performing calculations using ‘BA C calculators’ available on the Internet and to assess their reliability.
The five most popular ‘calculators’ found in the Google search engine and a commercial one were analysed. The applications were tested by entering data on 10 cases of alcohol consumption by people were tested for alcohol content in exhaled air using the Alcotest 7510 analyser and alcohol curves were plotted for them. Then, real ethanol concentrations and complete ethanol elimination times for these people were compared with values calculated by the applications.
The analysed ‘calculators’ base their calculations on various principles. Both the maximum alcohol concentrations and the time of their occurrence varied among the applications, but all seem to use the alcohol distribution coefficient established by Widmark. The use of individual elimination rates ranging from 0.12 to even 0.3‰/h was also observed. The time for complete alcohol elimination indicated by the applications was in most cases longer than the actual time.
Online applications such as the ‘BA C calculator’ available to Polish users may be helpful tools for determining the time of complete elimination of alcohol from the body. However, due to the different calculation methods used in applications, which sometimes lead to different conclusions, they should be approached with great caution. These applications will not replace reliable sobriety tests, e.g. analysis of exhaled air.
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Joanna Gieroń

Problems of Forensic Sciences, 136, 2023, pp. 341-354

https://doi.org/10.4467/12307483PFS.23.020.19627
Road traffic safety depends largely on the psychophysical fitness of drivers. Apart from ethyl alcohol, this efficiency is influenced by many other factors, including: presence in the blood of the so-called substances that act similarly to alcohol, and cannabinols constitute one of the most popular groups of these substances. The paper presents statistics on delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the main psychoactive ingredient of cannabis detected in the blood of drivers subjected to 7269 road inspections and involved in 4697 road events and accidents in the years 2010–2022 throughout Poland. Based on the results obtained, it was found that THC is present in the blood of 25–61% of roadside inspection cases, and in the case of road incidents and accidents, 5–15% of drivers have THC in a concentration equal to or higher than 1 ng/ml. The data in the charts are given in relation to two THC concentration ranges: 1.0–2.5 ng/ml and above 2.5 ng/ml (the value proposed as the limit of the state “after use” and “under the influence” of THC) and in relation to concentration ranges based on the THC elimination curve in human serum. The study did not distinguish between chronic or acute participants and occasional  participants.
It was based on THC and THCCOOH concentrations. The analyzes were performed using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent method (ELISA) and confirmatory methods such as liquid and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, in which the limit of quantification of 1 ng/ml was in accordance with the applicable requirement contained in the Regulation of the Minister of Health of July 16, 2014 on the list of similarly acting agents to alcohol and the conditions and method of conducting tests for their presence in the body.
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