Drug Identification in Forensic Science
One of the most important factors in Forensic Science is Drug identification. We can achieve results from testing urine samples and blood samples using forensic comparison microscopy.
The department in charge for drug cases and identification is called Toxicology unit. This department is also in charge for drug overdose and food poisoning. Aside from the Forensic expert who analyzes blood using microscopes another important person in this laboratory is called the drug chemist, he is the one who will identify what kind of drugs taken and the effects of the drugs on the victim.
All forensic laboratories conduct drug testing and identification and they use a powerful forensic comparison microscopy.
The purpose of drug identification is to prove that drug addiction is one of the reasons why so many crimes happen. Another importance of drug identification is also used in poisoning cases. This can be achieved by using forensic comparison microscopy on blood sample of the poison victim.
In this Article, the Forensic expert must identify the drug substance in the body of the victim or at least the major ingredient found at the sample presented.
After identifying the major ingredient the next step it to find the mixture substance found in the specimen. There are a lot of tests before this can be achieved and it’s very time consuming to conduct this examination but by the use of forensic comparison microscopy, best results can be achieved.

To gather evidence such as tablets and capsules, it is important that the forensic expert should count all the tablets found and package each type separately to avoid cross contamination between two substances. In addition to this, even the samples are of the same type but found on separate location, packaging should also be separate. It is known that the tablet and capsule samples are often damaged so it is advised to put the samples in an enclosed container to avoid leaking before putting it in an envelope. Lastly, all samples should be labeled accordingly and this includes the date when the specimen was gathered.
For powder samples, vials and folded paper packets are best advised. It will aid speeding up the results if all the samples gathered are submitted at the laboratory, so that all the samples cam have proper mixing and to get results as soon as possible. After gathering all the powder samples, the forensic expert should label the container and submit the gathered specimen to the laboratory for further testing.
Liquid samples should always be stored in capped containers to avoid spillage. It is also very important to gather all the liquid samples to assist in testing. The containers should be labeled and dated.

For plant samples such as marijuana, there are a lot of things to do; various cases are involved such as: possession and cultivation.
If the case is possession of marijuana, a handful of samples would be enough, however, if the case is cultivation of marijuana, it is very important to take more than five samples of plant. If the specimen is fresh sample, store it in paper bags, never put it in plastic packages, because it will give out moisture and fungal growth will develop. When fungal growth on the sample will develop, it will contaminate the evidence and therefore, it will not be very useful to solve the case. Fungal growth can be seen when using forensic comparison microscopy.
Drug residue on body cavities is also very crucial in investigation. Before acquiring this evidence, the forensic expert must first consult the one in charge in the laboratory and after packaging it must be labeled accordingly.