Novel Psychoactive Substance
Research Summary
Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) and research chemicals, which contain a variety of unregulated psychoactive constituents (phenethylamines, cathinones, and synthetic cannabinoids) have become main stream on the illicit drug market and are commonly abused for their euphoric and stimulating effects. The range of NPS drugs currently available on the market has continued to grow due to their widespread availability over the internet and constant variation in product composition to circumvent changes in legislation.
The continual evolution and emergence of NPS has created a market that is in constant flux, which has in turn created challenges in Forensic Toxicology drug screening. Inevitably, published methodologies for the detection and identification of novel recreational compounds lag behind the market itself. As one analyte is scheduled, a new one quickly materializes for which analytical methods must be developed and validated in a timely fashion. There is no standard approach for the identification of novel compounds or for the process of incorporating and prioritizing analytes for inclusion in the scope of analysis.
In 2013, the CFSRE was awarded a National Institute of Justice grant to investigate NPS use and prevalence within the electronic dance music (EDM) festival community as there have been several drug-related overdoses and deaths associated with these events. This allowed for specimens to be collected from authentic users, who were likely using some of the newest and most prevalent NPS drugs on the market at that time. Over the course of two years, approximately 300 EDM festival attendees were contacted and provided information regarding their recreational drug use as well as provided blood, urine and/or oral fluid specimens for analysis to confirm the presence of NPS drugs.
Publications and Presentations
Recreational Drug Use Trends and Emerging Analytes Identified in Blood, Urine, and/or Oral Fluid from Attendees at an Electronic Dance Music Festival
Amanda L.A. Mohr, Jillian K. Yeakel, Melissa Friscia, Barry K. Logan, AAFS, Poster Presentation, February 2015
Analysis of Biological Specimens for the Presence of Novel Psychoactive Substances from Attendees at an Electronic Dance Music Festival
Amanda L.A. Mohr, AAFS, Platform Presentation, February 2015
Analysis of Novel Psychoactive Substances and Metabolite Discovery in Authentic Biological Samples
Amanda L.A. Mohr, TIAFT, Platform Presentation, November 2014
Comparison of UPLC-QTOF and GCMS for Detection of Designer Drugs in Urine Samples
Jill K. Yeakel, Amanda L. Arntson, Barry K. Logan, SOFT, Platform Presentation, October 2014
Current Patterns of Designer Drug Use in the US Electronic Dance Music Community
Jill K. Yeakel, Amanda L. Arntson, Barry K. Logan, SOFT, Platform Presentation, October 2014
