Pepper Spray Research Paper

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Non-lethal weapons are popular among law-enforcement for the reasons of being able to provide a police officer detain larger and more hostile subjects without a large risk of injury to his/her self or the subject. Most common uses of non-lethal force is the application of tear gas or pepper spray. Both have extremely large incapacitating effects designed to bring down individuals and give the police officer the upper hand. Pepper spray is common in the law enforcement world, but has skyrocketed in public providing protection for individuals to carry a small can to provide protection when stuck in a scary situation. Tear gas and pepper spray as the intentions to subdue someone but there is always a time where the expectations are not met and …show more content…

OC can be produced synthetically, but unlike CS gas OC is a naturally occurring substance. It is found in the oily resin of cayenne and other varieties of peppers the same peppers used to "heat up" spicy foods. Contact with OC partcles in a sprayed mist incapacitates subjects by inducing an almost immediate burning sensation of the skin, But more important, the swelling of the eyes. The most abundant and potent part of peppers and consequently pepper extracts are capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin, which contribute most to the capsaicinoid concentration and pungency of the pepper. The concentration of capsaicinoids in a pepper ranges from 0.1 to 2.0% (dry weight) and this will be dependent on the particular type of pepper. Growing conditions of the peppers and time of harvest will have an effect on the capsaicinoid concentration. The components of oleoresin capsicum that cause irritation are the capsaicinoids. This group of chemicals comprises at least six compounds. Capsaicin is the major component of oleoresin capsicum responsible for the mixture’s irritant properties. Other capsaicinoids include the structural analogs to capsaicin: dihydrocapsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillylnonanamide), nordihydrocapsaicin (7-methyl-Nvanillyloctamide), homocapsaicin (trans-9-methyl-N-vanillyl-7-decenamide), homodihydrocapsaicin (9-methyl-N-vanillyl decamide), and pelargonic acid vanillylamide. Along with the capsaicin solvents and propellants are also introduced into the can to provide a stable liquid aerosol. The solvents and propellants used in the manufacture of OC sprays vary from one device to another. In addition, combinations of solvents have been used in certain devices. Finally, many devices do not describe the exact solvent used or the percentage

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