Pubdate: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 Source: Edinburgh Evening News (UK) Copyright: 2002 The Scotsman Publications Ltd Contact: http://www.edinburghnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1626 Author: Graham Diggines CANNABIS TO SNIFF OUT THE DRUG LORDS INTERNATIONAL drug smugglers will soon find their movements being more closely monitored by police thanks to a pioneering process being developed at Edinburgh University. The work of the scientists, which is being supported by the United Nations and Lothian and Borders Police, will allow authorities to discover where drugs are coming from and whether anti-drugs measures are working. The process involves using cannabis as a "tracker" drug under the assumption that heroin and cocaine traffickers peddle the category C drug as well. Using advanced know-how unique to Edinburgh University, researchers can tell how far north or south of the equator a batch of cannabis has been grown according to the levels of hydrogen and carbon in the drug. The altitude at which the crop has been cultivated can be gauged according to nitrogen levels. Finally, by cross-matching the information with samples taken from known cannabis farms across the world, scientists will soon be able to tell the origin of any cannabis seizure to within 100 miles. David Kilgour, 26, has been working on the project with his supervisor, Dr Patrick Langridge-Smith, for two years. He said: "This research will give police a valuable head start on the drugs gangs without having to rely on people infiltrating their ranks - which is obviously very dangerous. Lothian and Borders Police initially said this couldn't be done but we're proving that it can and they are now providing us with cannabis samples to help our research. "The UN is also very interested because this process will be able to show how effective their anti-drugs measures are." Mr Kilgour explained that the UN has a raft of measures it uses to dissuade cannabis farmers around the world from producing the highly lucrative contraband crop. This includes paying them to destroy hemp plants. Using the Edinburgh University breakthrough the UN will be able to see if the measures are working in areas, such as Afghanistan, the Middle East or Africa, by seeing how much cannabis from those areas turns up in drugs raids. The UN is arranging for samples from known cannabis producing regions to help Edinburgh University complete its research. Mr Kilgour said: "This could be one of the most time-consuming parts of the research because diplomacy over such a sensitive issue can take a long time. "For instance we were able to obtain cannabis from Afghanistan just before September 11. "But if America decides to take military action against Iraq that could complicate the process even further because so many Muslim countries produce cannabis." A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said: "This research could provide useful intelligence on where cannabis in the Edinburgh area comes from and what routes might be used for the drugs to arrive in this part of the country." A Customs and Excise spokesman said: "We work very closely with colleagues overseas to try and find ways to stop drugs entering the country in the first place. Knowing where drugs come from would be vitally important in that respect." The research is just one of the breakthroughs to be shown to Princess Anne when she opens the University of Edinburgh's new Biomolecular Research Centre today. More than UKP8 million has been ploughed into the new centre off West Mains Road by a number of groups, including The Wellcome Trust, Scottish Higher Education Funding Council, and Scottish Enterprise. The Princess Royal will also see how steroid analysis could help combat heart disease and new ways of killing the potentially fatal parasites which cause sleeping sickness in Africa. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom