Drug Cases

Forensic Excellence offers a complete service in respect of all drugs issues.

Legal Classification of Drugs.

There are now large numbers of drugs subject to the provisions of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 that are not actually listed within the Act but instead are legislated by “catch all” definitions that place these drugs into specific groups of drugs and if this is an issue or requires clarification, we can assist.

 

Drug Identification, Purity and Chemical Profiling

The Police utilise a number of Forensic agencies in the UK that undertake the formal identification of suspected drugs and also carry out purity tests. On some occasions, drugs samples from two or more sources might be compared to establish whether or not they have a common source using chemical profiling techniques.

If any of these issues are a concern to the Defence, we can undertake a thorough and robust evaluation of all aspects of the laboratory continuity, procedures and analytical techniques, and if required we can also conduct our own independent analyses.

 

Yields from Cannabis Plants

The issue of potential yields from cannabis plants is often highly debatable particularly in cases where the plants within the growing set-up have not achieved maturity when seized by the Police.

Factors such as the sophistication of the growing set-up (lights, heat sources, ventilation, use of timers etc), whether or not there was sufficient space to allow all of the immature plants to have grown to full maturity, crop rotation evidence, and the skills of the grower are often not factored into the estimate of the yields by the Prosecution expert, which can inherently drastically increase the potential tield estimate and of course the potential yield is crucial at the sentencing stages of the legal proceedings.

Our expert has extensive Professional experience in cannabis cultivation cases and we can provide a realistic estimate of the potential yield based on statements, scene photographs, information regarding space & equipment, and of course his own Professional experience.

If you have any issues with respect to cannabis yields we can assist you and provide a realistic yield estimate based on many years experience.

 

Drug Traces on Banknotes and Mobile Telephones.

The only laboratory in the UK that undertakes the analyses of bank notes in relation to the detection of drugs traces on each note and the overall interpretation of their findings based on their studies with banknotes taken from general circulation is Mass Spec Analytical (MSA) in Bristol.

Our drugs expert has undertaken numerous Defence examinations at MSA and should you have any issues with MSA’s findings, interpretation or conclusions we can undertake a thorough and robust assessment of all of their in house practices and analytical procedures on your behalf.

Given that MSA are the only facility in the UK undertaking this examination of banknotes, and the inferences from their findings, it is our opinion that if there is any issue, however slight, with the evidence that the Crown will seek to adduce from MSA, you should instruct an expert to carry out a fully independent evaluation of on your behalf, which will entail a visit to that laboratory and an in-depth review of the analytical results from the appropriate case.

Drug Valuations

In our experience, the valuations of drug seizures are often, but not always, estimated by the Prosecution based on taking the lowest weight of drug typically purchased by a user and calculating the valuation of the seizure using the cost of that lowest weight.

That might be considered a fair valuation, but it does not take into account factors such as regional variations and importantly the weight of the seizure, both of which can lower the potential value, which can be important in sentencing issues.

Our expert can provide independent and realistic valuations, particularly in Confiscation Proceedings where large amounts of drugs might be involved.

Drug Usage Issues

In certain cases, an issue may arise as to whether a quantity of a controlled drug (usually a relatively small quantity) was for personal use or supply to others. A defendant may provide an account of their daily / weekly use of the drug in question, and our expert can provide opinion on whether or not the claimed drug use was within the typical range expected for that drug.