Analysis of Physical Characteristics and Chemical Composition of Amphetamine Detected in Nakhon Ratchasima Province

Abstract

The objectives of this research were 1) to investigate the commercial information and the spread of Amphetamine (locally called "Yaba") in Nakhon Ratchasima province, 2) to study the physical characteristic correlation between color and weight of Yaba and 3) to study the chemical composition correlation between Methamphetamine and Caffeine of Yaba in Nakhon Ratchasima province. An integration of quantitative and qualitative researches was conducted in this research. Data were collected and analyzed from the examination results of Yaba that submitted to the Police Forensic Science Center 3 between October 2018 and February 2019 and the in-depth interviewing with 13 policemen and scientists attached to the Police Forensic Science Center 3.
The results of this research indicated as follows;

1) In terms of the intensity of trafficking and spreading of Yaba in Nakhon Ratchasima province, the findings showed the highest number of Yaba seizure was found in Mueang district (183 cases (30.7%)), followed by Pak Chong district (78 cases (13.1%)) and Nong Bunmak district (39 cases (6.5%)).

2) The results of correlation analysis of Yaba's physical characteristic between color and weight indicated that the Yaba's color correlated to its weight at the statistical significance level of .05.

3) The results of correlation analysis of Yaba's chemical composition between methamphetamine and caffeine indicated that methamphetamine correlated to caffeine-containing amphetamine at the statistical significance level of .05.