Course Number: CR-542
Course Length: 1/2 Day (3 Hours)

Law enforcement officers, treatment specialists, and many other professionals encounter both legal (prescription) and illegal (contraband) drugs, frequently during routine enforcement and supervisory activities. Knowledge of appearance of the various substances, the basic symptoms of use, the propensity toward agitation, safety issues with retrieval - all demand a constant flow of information and field experience. One of the current trends is to combine drugs in a wide variety of combinations of pharmaceuticals, contraband substances, over-the counter drugs and alcohol. In addition, the route of drug intake, the form of familiar drugs, the timing and dosage of each substance all combine to produce a wide, and sometimes unpredictable, range of effects.

This workshop focuses on new drugs and drug combinations as encountered throughout the nation. Topics include combinations of prescription drugs, prescription drugs combined with illegal drugs, combinations of illegal drugs, and the effects of various drugs when combined with alcohol and/or caffeine. Included are scheduled and non-scheduled drugs, pain medication abuse, depressant and stimulant abuse, the effects of "medical marijuana" as used with other substances, special problems with children and older adults, routes of administration, different effects from the same drug when in combination, and combination drug delivery methods.

The workshop will discuss the various forms and combinations of drugs and drug abuse for the purposes of recognition of substances, detection of abuse, dangers of drug interactions and behavior modifications from expected drug-user syndromes.

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