NPS Discovery is the CFSRE’s open-access drug early warning system operating in the United States.
Our evidence-based approach leads the development of high impact reports for real-time action.
ABOUT US: The Center for Forensic Science Research and Education (CFSRE) is working in collaboration with law enforcement, public health, and public safety agencies to rapidly identify emerging drugs, also known as Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS), associated with intoxications and adverse events. The information, reports, and resources consolidated here by the CFSRE allow for the rapid dissemination of information to stakeholders and affected communities.
OUR PARTNERS: The CFSRE would like to acknowledge its collaborative NPS partners, including NMS Labs, medical examiner and coroner offices, the International Society for the Study of Emerging Drugs (ISSED), the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Ghent University, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the UMass Division of Medical Toxicology, the American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT), and the National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS), among many others. In addition, the CFSRE appreciates its technical collaborative partners: Cayman Chemical, SCIEX, and Waters Corporation.
GRANT FUNDING: Our program is supported in part by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice (Award Number 2020-DQ-BX-0007, “Real-Time Sample-Mining and Data-Mining Approaches for the Discovery of Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS)”). The opinions, findings, conclusions and/or recommendations expressed in our publications are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.
PODCAST EPISODES ON NPS DISCOVERY: To hear more about NPS Discovery and our work, check out these recent podcasts with our leading scientists! “Just the Importance of Identifying Emerging Drug Threats” with CFSRE’s Mandi Mohr and Alex Krotulski comes from RTI and NIJ’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence [FTCoE, Award 2016-MU-BX-K110] to discuss the analytical and interpretative challenges associated with emerging drug threats and NPS. “Street Sampling Synthetics, from Carfentanil to Xylazine with Alex Krotulski” comes from Narcotica focusing on drug trends, combinations, and much more. And “New Psychoactive Substances with Alex Krotulski” comes from the ToxPod with Tim Scott and Peter Stockham discussing NPS and expanding world of NPS Discovery.
NEW ARTICLE ON NPS DISCOVERY: To read more about NPS Discovery and our history, check out this article from NIJ’s Dr. Frances Scott titled “NPS Discovery and the Hunt for New Drugs of Abuse“. Dr. Scott details how our “forensic scientists join[ed] together to create open-access drug characterization and tracking databases that can benefit laboratories across the nation.”
HEAR FROM OUR PROGRAM MANAGER: In November 2021, Dr. Alex Krotulski presented “NPS Discovery — Evolution of an open-access drug early-warning system” at the Eighth International Conference on Novel Psychoactive Substances. Watch his presentation below.
