Forensic Toxicology

Forensic toxicology involves the analysis of body fluids for alcohol, drugs, medicines and poisons; followed by an interpretation of any subsequent results. This work can be carried out in a whole range of case types ranging from road traffic offences to the most serious murder cases; therefore understanding the results of any toxicological analysis is vital in criminal investigations and any subsequent court proceedings.

It is not only the people accused of the more serious crimes that can benefit from a forensic toxicologist. Driving under the influence of drugs is a also a criminal offence, but one in which both the impairment of the driver and the presence of a drug at a concentration capable of causing that impairment must be proven; there is currently no legislation that defines what concentration of a drug (illicit or prescribed) will result in impairment/effect (i.e. unlike alcohol, there is no prescribed limit).