Information and Instructions for
Microgram Bulletin
(January 2007 Update)

General Information
Microgram Bulletin is a monthly newsletter published by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's Office of Forensic Sciences, and is primarily intended to assist and serve forensic scientists concerned with the detection and analyses of suspected controlled substances for forensic/law enforcement purposes.

Access to Microgram Bulletin
Microgram Bulletin is unclassified (as of the January 2003 issue), and is published on the DEA public access website (see the above URL). At this time, Microgram Bulletin is available only electronically, and requires Internet access. Professional scientific and law enforcement personnel may request email notifications when new issues are posted (such notifications are not available to private citizens). The publications themselves are never sent electronically (that is, as attachments).

Requests to be added to the email notification list should preferably be submitted via email to the Microgram Editor at: microgram-2007 -at- mailsnare.net Requests can also be mailed to: Microgram Editor, Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of Forensic Sciences, 2401 Jefferson Davis Highway, Alexandria, VA 22301. All requests to be added to the Microgram email notification list should include the following Standard Contact Information:

* The Full Name and Mailing Address of Submitting Laboratory or Office;

* The Full Name, Title (Laboratory Director, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Librarian, etc.), Phone Number, FAX Number, and Preferred email Address of the Submitting Individual (Note that subscriptions are mailed to titles, not names, in order to avoid subscription problems arising from future personnel changes);

* If available, the generic email address for the Submitting Laboratory or Office;

* If a generic email address is not available, one private email address for an individual who is likely to be a long-term employee, who has a stable email address, and who will be responsible for forwarding Microgram information to all of the other employees in the requestor's Office (Note that only one email address per Office will be honored).

* If requesting hard copy mailings, the number of copies requested (two max), and justification.

Requests to be removed from the Microgram email notification list, or to change an existing email address, should also be sent to the Microgram Editor. Such requests should include all of the pertinent Standard Contact Information detailed above, and also should provide both the previous and the new email addresses.

Email notification requests/changes are usually implemented within six weeks.

Email Notifications (Additional Comments)
As noted above, the email notification indicates which issue has been posted, provides the Microgram URL, and additional information as appropriate. Note that Microgram e-notices will NEVER include any attachments, or any hyperlink other than the Microgram URL. This is important, because the Microgram email address is routinely hijacked and used to send spam, very commonly including malicious attachments. For this reason, all subscribers are urged to have current anti-viral, anti-spyware, and firewall programs in operation. However, in order to ensure that the email notifications are not filtered as spam, the microgram-2007 -at- mailsnare email address must be “whitelisted” by the Office’s ISP.

Costs
Subscriptions to Microgram Bulletin are free.

Submissions to Microgram Bulletin
Microgram Bulletin includes Intelligence Alerts, Intelligence Briefs, Safety Alerts, Selected Intelligence Briefs, Selected Literature References, Meeting Announcements, Employment Opportunities, pertinent sections from the Code of Federal Regulations, Columns of topical importance, and similar material of interest to the counter-drug community. Explanatory details for most of the above types of submission are detailed below, and typical examples are published in most issues of Microgram Bulletin.

All submissions must be in English. Because Microgram Bulletin is unclassified, case sensitive information should not be submitted! All submissions should, whenever possible, be submitted electronically, as straight email or as an IBM® PC-compatible Corel WordPerfect® or Microsoft Word® attachment, to: microgram-2007 -at- mailsnare.net Current versions of Corel WordPerfect® or Microsoft Word® (defined as having release dates less than 5 years old) should be utilized. If email submission is not possible, submissions may be mailed to: Microgram Editor, Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of Forensic Sciences, 2401 Jefferson Davis Highway, Alexandria, VA 22301. Hard copy mailings should be accompanied by an electronic version on either a 3 ½ inch IBM® PC-compatible diskette or a standard CD-R. Note that diskettes should be mailed in an irradiation-proof protective sleeve, and the mailing envelope should be marked: “Warning - Contains Electronic Media - Do Not Irradiate”. Note also that mailed submissions may be subject to lengthy handling delays beyond the control of the Office of Forensic Sciences, and electronic media sent through the mail may be destroyed en route by sanitizing procedures, despite protective measures and written warnings. All submissions should include the following Contact Information: The Full Name and Address of Submitting Laboratory or Office, and the Full Name, Phone Number, FAX Number, and Preferred email Address of the Submitting Individual.

Intelligence Alerts and Briefs are concise synopses of the physical and chemical characteristics of novel and/or interesting exhibits submitted to law enforcement laboratories involved in the detection and analyses of suspected controlled substances for forensic/law enforcement purposes. Alerts have some unusual aspect, such as a novel drug, an atypical formulation, or a new smuggling technique, whereas Briefs are reports of routine analyses (that is, that confirmed what was suspected/expected). Both Alerts and Briefs should include descriptive details adhering to (as appropriate) the following outline:

What laboratory did the analysis? (Full Name)
Where is the laboratory located?
What agency seized the exhibit?
Where was the exhibit seized? (If an obscure locale, give distance and direction from the nearest city)
Were there any interesting (but non-sensitive) aspects of the seizure (traffic stop, unusual smuggling technique, at a “Rave,” etc.)
What controlled substance was suspected upon submission?
Detailed physical description (appearance, dimensions, logos, odor, packaging, etc.)
Quantities (numbers of tablets, packages or bricks, average mass, total net mass, etc.)
Photos (see additional information, below)
What techniques were used to analyze the exhibit?
Actual composition of the exhibit?
Quantitation data? (if not quantitated, provide a qualitative approximation if possible)
Adulterants and diluents? (if identified, especially if unusual)
First seizure of this type? (if not, provide brief details of previous examples)
Editorial comments? (if any)
Literature references for unusual submissions? (if needed)

In order to avoid confusion, if uncommon controlled substances are identified, the description should use the full chemical name(s) of the identified substances (if desired, acronyms or street terminology (e.g., “Foxy-Methoxy", “Nexus”, or “STP”) can be included in parentheses after the full chemical name).

Photographs should be provided as ATTACHMENTS, not as embedded images in documents. Jpeg images are preferred. Photographs should be of reasonable size - 250 KB or less per photograph. Unless the scale is obvious, photographs of subject exhibit(s) should include either a metric ruled scale or a coin or bill (U.S. currency) to place the exhibit’s size in context.

Safety Alerts are urgent communiques to the Microgram Bulletin readership which give notice of a specific safety issue of particular interest to forensic or crime laboratory personnel, or to law enforcement personnel dealing with controlled substances. They should include a concise synopsis of the incident(s), recommendations (if any), pertinent literature citations (if any are known), and a mechanism for providing feedback (if appropriate).

Selected Intelligence Briefs are reprinted (with permission) unclassified intelligence briefs of presumed interest to the Microgram Bulletin readership that have been previously published in restricted or non-restricted publications or websites that are also dedicated to the detection and analyses of suspected controlled substances for forensic/law enforcement purposes. Selected Intelligence Briefs must be unclassified, and should be a minimum of 1 page and a maximum of 10 pages in length (single spaced at 11 pitch Times New Roman font, including photos, tables, charts, etc.) All Microgram Bulletin subscribers are invited to submit such material, which must include the author’s and publisher’s contact information.

Selected Literature References is a monthly compilation of reference citations of presumed interest to the Microgram Bulletin readership, derived from approximately 7,500 scientific periodicals. The focus of the Selected Literature References is the detection and analysis of suspected controlled substances for forensic/law enforcement purposes. References from clinical and toxicological journals are included only if the material is considered to be of high interest to forensic chemists (for example, contains the mass spectra of an unusual substance that is not known to be published elsewhere). Note that citations from obscure periodicals may be missed, and all Microgram Bulletin subscribers are invited to submit citations of interest if they do not appear in Microgram Bulletin within three months of their publication. Of particular interest are articles from regional forensic science associations that are unlikely to be noted by any abstracting service. Citations should include a summary sentence and the primary author’s contact information.

Meeting Announcements list upcoming meetings of presumed interest to the Microgram Bulletin readership. In general, only meetings which are dedicated to forensic chemistry/forensic drug analysis or include a subsection so dedicated will be publicized in Microgram Bulletin. Meeting Announcements should include the Formal Title, Sponsoring Organization, Inclusive Dates, Location (City, State, and specific locale), Registration Deadline, Recommended Hotel (include details on special rates and deadlines where applicable), and Contact Individual’s Name, Phone Number, and email Address. If available, the URL for the meeting website should also be included in the Announcement. Meeting Announcements will be posted for a maximum of three consecutive months, or (alternately) three times every other month over a five month period, but not past the registration deadline.

Employment Opportunities lists job announcements of presumed interest to the Microgram Bulletin readership. In general, only jobs with a forensic chemistry/forensic drug analysis focus for Federal, State, or Local Crime Laboratories or Offices will be publicized in Microgram Bulletin. Exceptions may be requested and will be considered on a case-by-case basis (for example, an academic position in a Forensic Chemistry Department). Employment Opportunity announcements should include the Formal Title of the Organization, Formal Title of the Laboratory or Office, Position Title, Laboratory or Office Location (City and State), Salary Range, Opening and Closing Dates, Duties, General Requirements, Specialized Requirements (if any), Application Procedures, and the Contact Individual’s Name, Phone Number, email Address, and Mailing Address. If available, the URL for the agency’s website, and (if available) the specific URL for the job posting should also be included in the Announcement. Employment Opportunities will be posted for a maximum of 3 consecutive months, but not past the application deadline.

The Journal/Textbook Collection Exchange
If any subscriber is interested in donating any forensic or analytical chemistry journal and/or textbook collection to a fellow subscriber or library, Microgram Bulletin is willing to list the offered materials and the associated contact information in a future issue (currently January, April, July, and October). The general format should follow the example in the January 2003 issue, and should be sent via email to the Microgram Editor at: microgram-2007 -at- mailsnare.net Only items for donation (not for sale) will be considered for publication, and donations to libraries should adhere to journal restrictions and/or time limits (if any) on such offers.

Requests for Microgram and/or Microgram Bulletin Archives, 1967 - 2002

All issues of Microgram (November 1967 - March 2002) and the first nine issues of its successor Microgram Bulletin (April - December 2002) were and continue to be Law Enforcement Restricted publications, and are therefore (permanently) unavailable to the general public. [Note that this restriction includes requests made under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.]

However, past issues or individual sections of issues (e.g., specific articles) are available to law enforcement affiliated offices and laboratories. Requests from such offices and laboratories must be made on official letterhead and mailed to:

Deputy Assistant Administrator
Office of Forensic Sciences
Drug Enforcement Administration
2401 Jefferson Davis Highway
Alexandria, VA 22301

Note that requests made via email will not be honored.

DISCLAIMERS

1) All material published in Microgram Bulletin is reviewed prior to publication. However, the reliability and accuracy of all published information are the responsibility of the respective contributors, and publication in Microgram Bulletin implies no endorsement by the United States Department of Justice or the Drug Enforcement Administration.

2) Due to the ease of scanning, copying, electronic manipulation, and/or reprinting, only the posted copies of Microgram Bulletin (on www.dea.gov) are absolutely valid. All other copies, whether electronic or hard, are necessarily suspect unless verified against the posted versions.

3) WARNING!: Due to the often lengthy time delays between the actual dates of seizures and their subsequent reporting in Microgram Bulletin, and also because of the often wide variety of seizure types with superficially similar physical attributes, published material cannot be utilized to visually identify controlled substances currently circulating in clandestine markets. The United States Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration assume no liability for the use or misuse of the information published in Microgram Bulletin.