Forensic Toxicology Blog
Evidence-based articles about toxicology, expert testimony, legal developments, alcohol, drugs, and forensic testing.
Total and Unbound Drug Concentrations: What a Fasting Study Could Not Resolve
A laboratory can quantify total drug in plasma while struggling to quantify the much smaller unbound portion. That difference can determine whether a pharmacokinetic study answers its question. A result reported as not statistically significant does not resolve the question when the measurements are too limited to detect a meaningful…
Midazolam Sedation Models: Why a Medication Association Does Not Prove Antagonism
A medication can be associated with a different drug response because of the condition it was prescribed to treat. That possibility matters when interpreting a concentration-response model as evidence of a pharmacodynamic interaction. Franken and colleagues examined this problem in a study of midazolam sedation in terminally ill adults. Their…
CBD After Repeated Dosing: Why Detectability Does Not Establish a Washout Deadline
A cannabinoid detected after dosing stops is evidence of analytical persistence. It does not, by itself, establish an exact elimination half-life, the time of the last dose or a universal date when another person’s sample will test negative. A controlled study by Wolinsky and colleagues helps explain the distinction. Published…
Methamphetamine and Attention: Two Studies Showing Measured Performance Improvements
Two controlled studies measured improved divided-attention performance after methamphetamine administration. What those findings mean for forensic interpretation.
Oral THC and CBD Together: Why Formulation Matters
Research comparing oral THC administered in different cannabinoid formulations highlights the need to evaluate pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics togeth
Alcohol and the Brain: Why “Impairment” Is a Collection of Effects, Not a Single Switch
Research on visual processing, cerebral blood-flow responses, auditory attention, and interhemispheric inhibition shows why alcohol impairment is domain-specific.
Judge Robert S. Draper’s Verified Answer in CJP Inquiry No. 212
Primary-source document: Judge Robert S. Draper’s verified answer to the California Commission on Judicial Performance’s Notice of Formal Proceedings in Inquiry No. 212. The answer was filed on February 4, 2026. In it, Judge Draper denies violating the judicial canons cited by the Commission, disputes the Commission’s characterization of several…
Age, Balance, and Field-Sobriety Evidence: What Population Research Can Show
Age-related balance research helps frame evidence review, but population averages do not diagnose impairment or establish why one person swayed.
Kratom Cardiac Arrest and the Limits of a Mitragynine Blood Level
A 500 µg/L mitragynine result in a survived cardiac arrest illustrates why concentration, treatment, specimen timing, and alternative causes matter.
California Racial Justice Act in Juvenile Court (2026): JV-720 Forms, Procedure, and Service Rules
A 2026 practitioner guide to California Racial Justice Act claims in juvenile court, including JV-720 through JV-723, the July 1 form revisions, counsel, discovery, hearings, and AB 1071 service requirements.
California Racial Justice Act Motion Checklist (2026): Evidence, Discovery, Service, Hearings, and Remedies
A 2026 California Racial Justice Act workflow for identifying the theory, preserving the record, seeking discovery, handling service, building comparator evidence, and matching the requested remedy to Penal Code § 745.
People v. Chhuon & Pan (2026): RJA Cultural Stereotypes, Context, and Harmless Error
California Supreme Court guidance on RJA cultural-stereotype claims, context, defendant-directed bias, harmless error, and a significant 4-3 split.
