« Springfield MA: Statistics: Violent crime down | Main | Electronic anklet has potential for prison system »
August 22, 2007
Isotopes Used to Track Origins of Marijuana
Isotopes Used to Track Origins of Marijuana
August 21, 2007
News Summary
The Marijuana Signature Project at the University of Utah is using stable isotopes as a means of tracking the geographic origin of seized marijuana, research that could improve targeting of law-enforcement resources, the New York Times reported Aug. 21.
Funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, researcher Jason B. West is part of a new movement of using stable isotopes for forensic purposes. "Stable isotopes are a signature on plant materials and things that are derived from plants," said West. "Using them, you can get information about where something grew and its growth environment."
Most marijuana used in the U.S. is grown here, although supplies also come from Canada and Mexico. California, Hawaii, Kentucky, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington account for most of the domestic marijuana supply. ONDCP hopes that West's work not only will help pinpoint the origins of the drug but also whether it is grown indoors or outdoors.
"Plants maintain the fingerprint of the climate and the environmental conditions," said Gene Kelly, professor of soil science at Colorado State University. "Theoretically, high-elevation pot plants should have one sort of signature, coastal California plants another."
West's research already has revealed that most marijuana seized in San Diego comes from elsewhere, not grown locally as previously assumed. "There's considerable movement from multiple sources," said ONDCP chief scientist David Murray. "And it ends up that multiple streams of marijuana were present in a single location being offered for sale."
http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2007/isotopes-used-to-track.html?log-event=sp2f-view-item&nid=33841891
Posted by lois at August 22, 2007 12:29 PM