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Drugs in municipal wastewaters and their removal
Weberová, Kateřina ; Načeradská, Jana (advisor) ; Kopecká, Ivana (referee)
This research bachelor's thesis focuses on the occurence of illicit drugs in municipal wastewaters and their removal in wastewater treatment plants. The thesis focuses in detail on four psychoactive substances, which are tetrahydrocannabinol, MDMA, cocaine and methamphetamine, and their most commonly monitored metabolites. The work provides an overview of their presence in the aquatic environment and in wastewaters at the influent to wastewater treatment plants. In surface water, substances are found in concentrations up to hundreds of nanograms per liter. Concentrations of drugs at the influent to wastewater treatment plants normally range from tens to hundreds of nanograms per liter, with increased consumption reaching several thousand nanograms per liter. The thesis also focuses to efficiency of removal of selected psychoactive substances and their main metabolites during different stages of wastewater treatment. The findings indicate that the primary treatment is significant for tetrahydrocannabinol, less so for other substances. Tetrahydrocannabinol and its metabolites, in contrast to the other investigated substances, are lipophilic and their sorption occurs on the solid phase of wastewater. High concentrations of cannabinoids occur in sewage sludge, where they can persist in lower...
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Organized crime and security : drug cartels : the global capacity of a rising security threat
Ibáñez de Foerster, Marcela ; Balabán, Miloš (advisor) ; Střítecký, Vít (referee)
Over the last four decades organized crime groups, particularly, drug trafficking organizations or drug cartels, have managed to be under the spotlight of the security agendas of American countries such as Colombia and the United States. During the last two decades, however, the global securitization of the drug trafficking issue, has led them to become a major security threat not only for the Americas, but also for Europe and more recently for West African countries. These organizations pose a threat not only to the security of the state, but to the very essence of it, by corrupting and damaging everything they come in contact with at the political, social, economical and even cultural level. This graduate thesis presents an analysis on Latin American drug trafficking organizations or drugs cartels, as they are commonly known, focusing on the cases of Colombian and Mexican drug cartels. By comparing these two case studies, I suggest that today's Mexican drug trafficking organizations have gained their momentum and incommensurable strength by following the footsteps of the big three Colombian drug cartels that existed between the 1980s and 1990s. The first chapter will expose the definitions and concepts surrounding the research of organized crime. In the second and third chapters, both the...
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Patterns of polysubstance, alcohol and cocaine, use in nightlife setting: Qualitative research
Kazdová, Lucie ; Kulhánek, Adam (advisor) ; Vacek, Jaroslav (referee)
Background: There is currently an upward trend in the availability and use of cocaine within the European Union. Among recreational users, it is consumed mainly in night-life settings where alcohol is traditionally consumed. Alcohol and cocaine are thus often used simultaneously by nightclubbers which carries significant risks. These users also constitute a 'hidden population'whose characteristics and patterns ofuse havenot yet been sufficiently described. Aims: The aim of the research was to map and describe patterns of concurrent alcohol and cocaine use among selected nightlife participants, providing background information on the context of their use. A sub-objective was to assess the level of risk of alcohol and cocaine use based on respondents' experiences and behaviours in nightlife settings. Methods: Respondents were recruited through social networks and directly in the nightlife environment. Methodologically, it was a combination of non-probabilistic methods of selecting the research population (self-selection, purposive sampling and snowball sampling). The research sample consisted of 14 respondents with whom semi-structured interviews were conducted by several interviewers (triangulation of researchers). The data were analysed by coding them and then creating so-called clusters and...
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Crossing the line behind the stage: drugs in theatre
Rybová, Tereza ; Spalová, Barbora (advisor) ; Novotná, Hedvika (referee)
This thesis explores a specific discourse on cocaine non-use/use in the theatre environment, specifically among students and graduates of an arts college in the 20-30 age group. Thus, the research focuses on the use of psychotropic substances in a relatively privileged context. Through a phenomenological research design, an understanding of the lived experience of the actors is achieved. The data was collected through thirteen in-depth interviews. Respondents included non-users, occasional users, people in outpatient treatment and former drug distributors. The study explores how actors perceive experiences with particular drugs and how they define the boundaries of acceptability within psychotropic substance use. The thesis also focuses on what users consider essential during the act of use itself. Special attention is then given to economic relations, drug distribution and perceptions of illegality. The work also touches on the experience of abstinence and outpatient treatment. In addition to describing use in a specific theatrical setting through the eyes of the actors themselves, it is revealed how substance use is normalized in this group and how the actors (dis)define themselves from the socially supported discourse.
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Attempts of Regulation of Coca Cultivation in Peru and Bolivia
Kšírová, Kristýna ; Soukup, Jaromír (advisor) ; Krausz Hladká, Malvína (referee)
This bachelor thesis deals with the topic of coca cultivation regulation attempts in Peru and Bolivia. The main goal is to determine in which aspects are the two policies different and if one of the proposed models can be described as more effective. The author introduces the forming moments of anti-drug policy on the world scale, she continues by conceptualising coca as a plant traditionally used by indigenous population and also a substance that was classified as a narcotic substance by the UN. The author then proposes a comparative analysis of the following aspects: the UNODC data on coca cultivation, the characteristics of the areas of coca cultivation and the role of coca unions in each state. In the last section the historical evolution of anti-drug policies is also explored. The results suggest that the states differ in each of the studied areas. The author assumes the more effective model is the Bolivian policy of 'social control'.
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The purity of illicit drugs (methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine) in Czech Republic
Limpouchová, Markéta ; Vopravil, Jiří (advisor) ; Šejvl, Jaroslav (referee)
This work deals with the purity of the illegal drugs methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin, and its implications in a broad context. The theses is divided into two parts - the theoretical and the practical one. The theoretical part provides background information about the selected illegal drugs. The aim is to introduce the drugs in the context of the topic of this work, whereby the reader may gain an understanding of the implications of illicit drug purity. It contains a brief history of the selected drugs and mentions the current prevalence of their use in the Czech Republic. It also provides basic information about the production, chemical structure, administration and effects of these substances. Furthermore, the negative health impact that the adulteration of these drugs may have is also discussed.The practical part focuses on two areas. The first objective of this work consists of a proposal to establish the optimal borders between the wholesale and retail quantities, which should increase the information value of the data. The second objective of this study consists of a secondary analysis of drug seizures and the purity of the most frequently used illegal drugs in the Czech Republic, in the context of an international comparison. It is hypothesized that the purity of imported illegal drugs (heroin and...
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Security Situation in Columbia in a Context of the Drug Trafficking and its Impact on the Region
Kačírek, Lukáš ; Střítecký, Vít (advisor) ; Krausz Hladká, Malvína (referee)
The thesis is concerned with the drug trade in Colombia, country with the largest drug production in the world. It is aimed especially at the age of drug cartels that used to have an eminent impact on the country's security situation. Firstly, it explains the main causes of the Colombian conflict. Afterwards, cartels from Medellín and Cali are introduced. After their downfall, they were shortly replaced by the Norte del Valle cartel. This cartel was however less successful in the drug field. After the downfall of the two important cartels, the drug field splintered. The thesis is briefly focused on the present situation as well. Guerilla groups also play a significant role in the conflict, thus one of the chapters is dedicated to them. Specific chapter is concerned with the reflection of the USA in the conflict - it introduces their role during the first half of the twentieth century as well as Plan Colombia. The last chapter discusses Colombia's relations with regional states in the crucial era from the view of drug trade. These states are specifically Peru, Bolivia and Mexico. The end of the thesis evaluates what kind of a state Colombia was in the second half of the twentieth century according to the Robert Rotberg's state theory.
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Spectral analysis of thermal decomposition of drugs and cigarette smoke
Vodenková, Eva ; Ferus, Martin (advisor) ; Nejdl, Lukáš (referee)
This bachelor thesis is focused on the spectral analysis of combustion and thermolytic products of selected addictive substances. Spectral analyzes of smoke of various tobacco products (cigarette, electronic cigarettes, hookah) were performed in order to qualitatively determine the composition of smoke and compare the harmfulness of individual types. The main objective was to determine whether the electronic cigarettes are less harmful to health in terms of the composition of the main products detectable by high-resolution spectroscopy occurring in gas-phase smoke. Furthermore, the work deals with a more detailed analysis of drug thermolysis in a wider temperature range and repeatability of measurements over a longer period of time. New spectral single crystal radiation sources from Crytur were also used to measure absorption spectra and their applicability in the field of overton spectra was tested. All these measurements were performed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). For tobacco products, less compounds were detected in electronic cigarettes and hookahs than in conventional cigarettes. In the case of drugs, we were able to confirm the repeatability of measurements and determine the percentage of individual substances at different temperatures. Furthermore, the applicability...
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Epigenetic mechanisms in psychostimulant addiction
Kubátová, Eliška ; Novotný, Jiří (advisor) ; Rydzyková, Tereza (referee)
Psychostimulants are highly addictive substances that act in a brain reward center by increasing extracellular levels of monoamines. In western civilization, they have gained popularity during the 20th century. Psychostimulant addiction is a persistent social problem even today since therapy is often unsuccessful and former users relapse frequently. Alterations in gene expression occur after psychostimulant is administered. These changes are long-lasting as they can often persist for weeks and months. This work focuses on the epigenetic changes in a brain associated with the development of addiction after psychostimulant administration. Key words: Epigenetics, psychostimulants, amphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, addiction
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Spectral analysis of thermal decomposition of drugs and cigarette smoke
Vodenková, Eva ; Ferus, Martin (advisor) ; Nejdl, Lukáš (referee)
This bachelor thesis is focused on the spectral analysis of combustion and thermolytic products of selected addictive substances. Spectral analyzes of smoke of various tobacco products (cigarette, electronic cigarettes, hookah) were performed in order to qualitatively determine the composition of smoke and compare the harmfulness of individual types. The main objective was to determine whether the electronic cigarettes are less harmful to health in terms of the composition of the main products detectable by high-resolution spectroscopy occurring in gas-phase smoke. Furthermore, the work deals with a more detailed analysis of drug thermolysis in a wider temperature range and repeatability of measurements over a longer period of time. New spectral single crystal radiation sources from Crytur were also used to measure absorption spectra and their applicability in the field of overton spectra was tested. All these measurements were performed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). For tobacco products, less compounds were detected in electronic cigarettes and hookahs than in conventional cigarettes. In the case of drugs, we were able to confirm the repeatability of measurements and determine the percentage of individual substances at different temperatures. Furthermore, the applicability...
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