Pubdate: Tue, 21 Nov 2000 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 2000 The New York Times Company Contact: 229 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036 Fax: (212) 556-3622 Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Forum: http://forums.nytimes.com/comment/ 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. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry F