Opinion ID: 2600675
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Alcohol and cocaine use and effects

Text: On April 21, 1989, a sample of defendant's blood was taken and analyzed. No cocaine or other drugs were detected. Forensic toxicologist William Phillips testified it was unlikely that cocaine ingested on April 14 would be detectable in defendant's body on April 21, but the presence of cocaine or its metabolite may be detected in dried blood. A sample of dried blood collected from the ammunition box found at the Richards home was established to have greater than 100 nanograms (one nanogram equals one billionth of one gram) of cocaine and 40 nanograms of cocaine metabolite per gram of whole blood. Although estimation was very difficult, by extrapolation Phillips estimated that the amount of cocaine in defendant's body at the time the blood was deposited was 201 nanograms per milliliter. Psychiatrist and clinical researcher Dr. Reese Jones, a specialist in psychopharmacology, testified regarding the effects of alcohol and cocaine consumption. Dr. Jones explained that a cocaine user does not necessarily appear or act intoxicated by impairment of motor performance, and in moderate doses cocaine may enhance mental function, whereas alcohol has the opposite effect. Alcohol and cocaine, although operating in opposite manners on the user, tend to elicit his or her innate behavior and traits. Dr. Jones reviewed the police and toxicology reports, listened to a tape recording of defendant's confession, and was advised of the foregoing test results of the analysis of the dried blood sample. Dr. Jones stated that if high dosages of cocaine repeatedly had been ingested, he would expect to find 500 to 1,000 nanograms of cocaine metabolite per gram of blood. Dr. Jones also testified that the type of weapon selected by an assailant and the efficiency with which a wound is inflicted tend to indicate the amount of planning involved in an attack. Lying to a victim to induce that person to move to a different spot, such as defendant's lying to Mrs. Richards, and killing the children one at a time, were acts that were consistent with planning rather than with impulsive or disorganized thinking. Defendant's ability to travel from one crime scene to another reflected attention, concentration, and planning inconsistent with the mental impairment that would result from heavy drug usage.