John Hughes BSc, PhD

Dr John Hughes joined Forensic Access as a Consultant Forensic Chemist in 2004. He is a Registered Forensic Practitioner.

John’s first and second degrees, for which he studied at City University, are in Industrial Chemistry and Spectral Studies of Imidate Systems respectively. His professional career began when, in 1972, he joined the Special Services Section where he was responsible for spectroscopic work within the Metropolitan Police Forensic Science Laboratory (MPFSL), London. He went on to hold positions within the Drugs Section between 1977 and 2004. In 1974/5 he was seconded to the Policia de Investigaciones del Peru, in the Lima Laboratory, to develop new techniques and to train local staff. Following his return to the MPFSL he assumed responsibility for the implementation of the Case Assessment and Interpretation Project within the Drugs Section. He has lectured and published widely on the subject of cannabis and its cultivation.

John’s principal areas of expertise are:

• street drugs including cannabis
• heroin, amphetamine, ecstasy and cocaine
• cannabis cultivation including yield calculations
• cutting agents in drugs
• assessment of drug purities
• drug profiling
• the linking of drugs seizures
• the assessment of paper wrappings used for drugs including physical fits
• the identification of magic mushrooms including psilocybe
• the presentation of written and oral evidence in Courts of Law

John also has a keen interest in, and wide knowledge of, cacti and other succulents, alpine plants and Delphiniums. He is on the Royal Horticultural Society lists of speakers and judges. This makes him horticulturally qualified to comment on Cannabis cultivation.