Pubdate: Tue, 21 Nov 2000
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2000 The New York Times Company
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Author: Henry Fountain

OBSERVATORY: TRACING COCAINE

You don't need to be too much of a snob about French wine to tell a 
Sancerre from a Savennieres, or a St.-Estephe from a St.-Emilion. Even 
small taste hints — a touch of flintiness here, some fruitiness there — can 
be enough to pin down a wine's origin.

Cocaine, according to new research, gives even subtler clues as to where it 
came from. This information should be of use, not to connoisseurs of the 
drug, but to law enforcement agents.

Researchers from the University of Utah and the Drug Enforcement 
Administration, reporting in the journal Nature, say that by analyzing the 
chemical signature of a sample of cocaine, they can determine in what South 
American region the drug's raw material, coca leaves, were grown.

The researchers analyzed the ratio of certain isotopes of carbon and 
nitrogen in the cocaine, recognizing that these ratios differ depending 
upon the conditions in which the coca was grown. The scientists also 
analyzed the trace alkaloid content of the drug. By combining the data, 
they were able to determine the origin of 96 percent of 200 cocaine samples.

The researchers say the technique should be useful in the fight against 
cocaine trafficking. It can also help identify new cocaine- producing areas 
as they develop.
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