Webinar: Wednesday, January 9, 2019. Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) have become popular for those seeking an alternative to smoking traditional tobacco products. The lack of regulation made e-cigs easy to access and has shepherded their nefarious use.  The use of the e-cigs as an illicit drug delivery device is touted on websites, blogs, and videos describing how best to use them for specific illicit drugs and advocating for vaping illicit drugs publicly.

The webinar will:

• Explain how e-cigs work, the risk to health from vaping and second hand exposure, exploding devices, and the startling rise of use among teens.  
• Describe how illicit drugs can be consumed in public without questions due to the lack of suspicious odors and the acceptability of vaping. 
• Discuss products used in e-cigs (vape liquids, waxes, plant materials) and the impact to forensic science and the criminal justice system.
  • In the course of this explanation, the danger to vaping unlabeled ingredients like ethanol and designer drugs such as synthetic cannabinoids (ie. K2 and Spice) will be briefly explained.

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Dr. Peace received her B.A. in Chemistry from Wittenberg University, a Master of Forensic Science from George Washington University, and her Ph.D. from the Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).  The focus of her doctoral work was to study entomological evidence as an alternative matrix for toxicological analyses.   

Dr. Peace is currently an Associate Professor for the Department of Forensic Science at VCU (FEPAC-accredited).  She is one of the founding faculty for the Department, and has served as Associate Chair for more than 4 years.  She also served as the Department Chair for 4 years, expanding the faculty, physical space, and research initiatives in the Department.  Dr. Peace has served as a manager in a private SAMHSA-accredited forensic drug testing laboratory and has worked as a scientist for Procter & Gamble, where she holds 3 patents.

Dr. Peace is currently the PI for an NIJ grant studying the efficacy of electronic cigarettes, particularly as they pertain to substance use and abuse, and has served as the PI for a sub-grant from NIJ’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence at RTI, in which she managed a complex evaluation of crime scene scanners, collaborating with 4 law enforcement agencies.  

Dr. Peace has been the President of the Society of Forensic Toxicologists (SOFT) for 2018, and is a member of the Toxicology Section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. She served on the Scientific Working Group for Forensic Toxicology (SWGTOX) for 4 years to help develop standards in the practice of forensic toxicology, is a member of the National Safety Council’s Alcohol, Drugs, and Impaired Driving Division, and serves on a federal task force regarding drug epidemics involving novel psychoactive substances and opioids.

Dr. Peace has conducted continuing education forums for public health and public safety professionals in China and New Zealand. She has been a faculty member for Virginia’s Forensic Science Academy which is a codified program to train law enforcement regarding the identification, collection, and preservation of evidence from a crime scene.  She has also developed workshops for primary and secondary education and a community engagement enterprise to address STEM education in middle schools.  

Register now for this webinar