ABSTRACT
Forensic toxicology involves the application of toxicological principles to problems and questions pertaining to the legal system. Among the issues that forensic toxicologists deal with are testing for alcohol and drugs in individuals accused of criminal behavior (including drunk driving) and detection of the use of poisons in criminal acts. Both of these activities typically involve detection of chemical substances in human tissues and thus are dependent on techniques borrowed from analytical chemistry. In this chapter, we will look at the application of analytical toxicology to the problem of testing biological samples for alcohol, drugs, and other poisons. We will also look at examples of poisons used in the commission of crimes.
