• Neuroscience & Pharmacology Discussion Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Recent Journal Articles Chemistry Mega-Thread
    FREE Chemistry Databases! Self-Education Guide

  • N&PD Moderators: Skorpio

Portable Ion Trap Mobility Spectrometers

Haha, with my very introductory-level understanding of topics found in advanced discussion, I didn't really have a clue about what ion-mobility spectrometry was. So from the picture I saw of the thing when I clicked the link, I thought it was like some kind of scanner gun that they could just point-and-click at you, and it would tell them if you had drugs or explosives on you. My heart about skipped a beat.

So after some quick reading, it sounds to me like it does kinda like what a GC/MS does, only with IMS it makes it much faster (am I getting this right?). Therefore for analysis to occur, I suppose they would first have to be obtain a sample of something for which to analyze (durr, I know).

It definitely sounds like a cool thing to have. But as far as its use by law enforcement for narcotics detection, wouldn't the only real implication be that it would expedite the conviction process of certain drug busts that aren't completely obvious? Or I guess there's the ideas of specific testing versus nonspecific? What about analogues?
 
It's not quite point and click and instantaneous, but they can take a swab from clothing/skin/any surface and within 15 minutes identify with certainty even trace amounts of drugs known to its database. It can also test vapours rather than swabs.

Those devices cost around 30,000GBP. They also have a portable raman spectroscope device which can non-destructively test pills or any sample of powder etc within 30 seconds against a database of 8000 known substances, no idea how much that costs but the technology is starting to become portable, fast and reliable.
 
Sure, but the police here are now using those mobile IMS machines in bars and clubs to rapidly identify traces of drugs on people or in the premises, and using it as just cause for searching people...

amusingly they actually know what the identity of the drugs are better than the people in possesion of them in some cases.
 
Wow. So even though I don't smoke weed, that fact that everyone I live with does means they have probable cause to search me. Which means I'll have to start carrying around the bottle for my prescription d-amphetamine spansules which is annoying as fuck to walk around with in a pocket.
 
How many average Joe Cops are going to be educated in using one of these correctly? I would imagine it's very easy to have them read "positive" for everything in the right hands. And what about that rumour/fact that most paper money contains traces of cocaine? "Oh look, you have cocaine on your person!"

I suppose this also makes framing others very easy. No longer do you actually have to consume drugs with them, just mist a 0.05% cocaine solution on their bags and watch security strip search the poor sob.

I say leave the forensics to the actual scientists. Going out of your way to find excuses to search and imprison people who are not bothering anyone else is a waste of police funds. These tools would be better used at borders and in airports (they are) rather than in the hands of street cops.
 
It worries me. The law doesn't require you to possess a usable amount of an illegal substance. A buddy was charged with MDMA possession when they tested a mirror and found traces of MDMA on it. None of it stuck thanks to a great lawyer, but most people can't drop 50K on a lawyer. I'd be seriously concerned about people being charged with cocaine possession because their wallets tested positive.
 
What worries me is that in the hands of untrained officers this is basically a $20,000 permit to point it at someone, have a red light blink, and there's you're probable cause. A dowsing rod if you will. How will Joe Layman dispute that there was a trace of THC on his sweater?

I have def heard of these for detecting (usually explosives) at airports though, the TOF-MS units, and people still smuggle cocaine and shit so obviously they must have flaws.

A cheap and dirty Raman spec would be nice for people to identify drugs with.
 
The main idea behind these devices is the feasibility of the minaturisation of IMS-MS technology to the level where it's man portable and fairly rugged equipment, which can be operated by a chemistry layman with minimal training. The user interface can be run in either a way which just lists all the substances detected based on matches against an updatable database, or shows the full analytical output. Presumably they can be calibrated for their environment to filter out a given level of background or expected traces, to avoid every single wallet showing a positive for cocaine etc. At any rate they make for quite a visible deterrent.

The question is how could they be defeated / confused in a way that doesn't make you look suspicious enough to raise eyebrows ;)

I've always wondered how cheaply a servicable raman spec could be built for...
 
I do also wonder if police forces would be hesitant to deploy such devices, incase corruption in the ranks is exposed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top