DFC
Definition
Drug-facilitated crime, the umbrella term for sexual assault, robbery or kidnapping in which a victim has been incapacitated by a clandestinely administered drug. The Indian SFSL DFC panel is built around alprazolam, zolpidem, benzodiazepines as a class, datura alkaloids and ethanol.
- Full term
- Drug-facilitated crime
- Typical offences
- Sexual assault, robbery, kidnapping
- Mechanism
- Victim incapacitated by a clandestinely administered drug
- Indian SFSL panel
- Alprazolam, zolpidem, benzodiazepines as a class, datura alkaloids, ethanol
Common questions
Why is DFC toxicology testing especially time-sensitive?+
Many of the drugs used in drug-facilitated crime, such as benzodiazepines and zolpidem, clear from blood within hours and from urine within a day or two, so a delayed report or blood draw can mean the substance has already dropped below the detection limit even though the victim genuinely was incapacitated.
Why does the Indian DFC panel specifically include datura alkaloids alongside pharmaceutical sedatives?+
Datura is a plant readily available in many parts of India and has a documented history of use in incapacitation crimes there, including in food or drink, so local SFSL panels are built to include region-specific agents like datura alkaloids alongside the pharmaceutical sedatives more commonly screened for elsewhere.
Related terms
- Acid Fraction
- The organic phase recovered when the biological aqueous is acidified to pH 2 to 3 and shaken with diethyl ether or chloroform....
- Alkaline Fraction
- The organic phase recovered when the aqueous is basified to pH 9 to 10 with ammonium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide and shaken...
- Cut-Off
- The minimum analyte concentration that an SFSL reports as positive. SAMHSA-style serum cut-offs commonly used at Indian labs include morphine 2 ng/mL,...
- Neutral Fraction
- The organic phase recovered when the aqueous is buffered to pH 7 to 9 and extracted with a less polar solvent like...
- pKa
- The negative logarithm of the acid dissociation constant. For a basic drug it is the pH at which half the molecules are...
- Post-Mortem Redistribution
- The movement of drugs from solid tissues into central blood after death, due to diffusion along concentration gradients, autolytic enzyme release, and...