How 3D printing technologies could undermine law enforcement strategies targeting the production and distribution of designer drugs.
Autor: | Gilpin V; School of Engineering, Ulster University, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT15 1ED, UK., Smith RB; Institute for Materials and Investigative Sciences, School of Engineering and Computing, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK., Birkett JW; Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, L3 5AH, UK., Davis J; School of Engineering, Ulster University, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT15 1ED, UK. Electronic address: james.davis@ulster.ac.uk. |
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Jazyk: | angličtina |
Zdroj: | Science & justice : journal of the Forensic Science Society [Sci Justice] 2024 Nov; Vol. 64 (6), pp. 677-687. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Oct 28. |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.scijus.2024.10.004 |
Abstrakt: | Countering the supply of counterfeit and designer drug pills laced with fentanyl or its analogues has long been a challenge with the potency of the drug and the ease with which it can be obtained impacting greatly on families and the wider society. The introduction of legislative measures to restrict access to the machinery that allows the production of the pills has yielded considerable gains with numerous seizures of pill presses reported. However, the increasing availability of bench top milling machines and advances in 3D printing could render this a short term victory where the technology may be set to outpace the capabilities of conventional law enforcement. While pill presses were once born from high specification industrial machining, low cost mills and 3D printing systems are already at the stage of producing small format presses within the domestic home. Here, a spotlight is trained on fentanyl (and its analogues) from the perspective of pill manufacture and their supply. An overview of pill press mechanics and the approaches presently taken to counter distribution is provided and the potential influence that both milling systems and 3D printing technologies could have in the future is critically evaluated. Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) |
Databáze: | MEDLINE |
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