Read Dr. Benjamin’s article on waiving Miranda rights and false confessions while under the influence of prescription drugs

Click here to read the article: http://wrongfulconvictionsblog.org/2013/07/31/a-new-twist-to-false-confessions-the-pharmacological-factor/#more-15157

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Keynote presentation at the 3rd International Conference on Novel Psychoactive Agents

Summary of Dr. Benjamin’s keynote presentation at the 3rd International Conference on Novel Psychoactive Agents in Rome, Italy, May 2014. Designer Drugs, Synthetic Cannabinoids, “Bath Salts” and the US Federal Analog Act Historical Overview The current use of the term “designer drug” evolved from the 1980s, when drug dealers attempted to synthesize or design opioids […]

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Synthetic Cannabinoids Lead to Vehicular Homicide

Reproduced with permission from ToxTalk Volume 37, Issue 4, pages 14-17, December 2013 No, Dorothy, synthetic cannabinoids are not just strong marijuana! This is the message we, as toxicologists, must repeatedly tell the media and inform the public. Just because some of these drugs can be purchased over-the-counter as bath salts, it does not mean […]

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Marijuana Toxicity and Routes of Administration

Click here to download the article – PDF Format

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Prothrombotic Effects of COX-2 Inhibitors: Is it a Class Effect?

Presented at: The annual meeting of the American College of Legal Medicine, March 4, 2005, San Diego, CA. The inhibition of the cyclooxygenase (COX) 1 and 2 enzymes was discovered   as the mechanism of action of aspirin by John Vane in the late 1960s or early 1970s.   This discovery earned Dr. Vane both a Nobel […]

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Use of the Covino Algorithm in Evaluating the Additive Toxicity of Lidocaine and Bupivacaine

Presented at: American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Toxicology Section, Las Vegas, NV, February 18, 2004 The local anesthetics (LAs) lidocaine and bupivacaine are commonly used together in many surgical and cosmetic procedures. Routes of administration run the full gamut and include: intravenous (IV) lidocaine as an antiarrhythmic, local infiltration for surgical repair of lacerations and […]

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The Death of Ted Binion: Drug OD/Suicide or Murder by Poisoning – When the Average Means Too Much

Presented at: American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Last Word Society, Las Vegas, NV, February 19, 2004 On September 17, 1998, the body of Las Vegas casino owner Lonnie Theodore Binion was discovered by his girlfriend, Ms. Sandra Murphy, lying on the floor of his den. He was not breathing and did not respond to his […]

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Are Pharmacologists/Toxicologists Without Medical Degrees or MDs Best Qualified to Testify About Drugs?

Presented at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences February 23, 2001, Seattle, WA In 1993, the Supreme Court asserted the need for District Court Judges to serve as gatekeepers in qualifying experts to testify under Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) 104 (a) and 702, and ensure that proffered testimony is both relevant and reliable (Daubert […]

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Redesigning Drug Approval – Redefining Drug Safety: The Felbamate – Bromfenac Paradigm

Presented at the American College of Clinical Pharmacology, September 1999, Washington, DC In July of 1993, felbamate (Felbatol®) was approved for the treatment of Lennox-Gastaut (LG) syndrome in children, for which there was no effective treatment. Pre-market studies in ~1,000 patients failed to detect any serious ADRs. Within a year of marketing, reports of aplastic […]

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Combinations of Ethanol and Prescription Drugs While Driving: Factoring Out the Effects of Ethanol

Presented at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences February 19, 1999, Orlando, FL The combined pharmacologic effects of prescription drugs with CNS depressant actions and their interactions with ethanol can cause impairment of an individual’s ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. Operators of motor vehicles may not have been fully informed of the effects […]

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