Phenacetin: A Toxic Adulterant Found in Illicit Street Drugs
Phenacetin, a pain-relieving and fever-reducing drug, was discovered as an analgesic in 1887. It was one of the first synthetic fever reducers on the market and one of the first…
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Opioid Overdoses from the Toxicology Investigators Consortium (ToxIC) Fentalog Study Group: Q1 2021
A partnership between the American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) and the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education (CFSRE) was established to comprehensively assess the role and prevalence of…
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Drug Supply Assessment (Q1 2021): Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
A partnership between the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education (CFSRE) and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) has been established to accurately assess the drug supply in…
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Positivity of New Synthetic Cannabinoid 4F-MDMB-BICA Increasing in U.S. as Prevalence of 5F-MDMB-PICA Wanes
4F-MDMB-BICA was first identified in the United States (U.S.) in plant-like material seized by law enforcement in May 2020 and soon after in toxicology casework in July 2020, with concurrent…
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Metonitazene Begins Proliferation as Newest Synthetic Opioid Among Latest Cycle of Non-Fentanyl Related Drugs
Metonitazene is a potent synthetic opioid bearing structural resemblance to etonitazene, a synthetic opioid that is nationally and internationally controlled. Metonitazene is dissimilar in structure to other synthetic opioids typically…
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Fluorofentanyl Identified in Forensic Casework as Wave of Fentanyl-Related Substances Appears in the United States
Fluorofentanyl was identified as early as 2016 in the U.S. and Europe, but overall detections remained low until recent months. Positivity of para-fluorofentanyl began increasing in Q3 2020 and within…
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Updated Trend Reporting for the NPS Benzodiazepine Clonazolam Based on Data-Mining for 8-Aminoclonazolam
Clonazolam (also called clonitazolam) first emerged in the recreational drug supply in 2014 (Europe) and 2016 (United States). Like many NPS, clonazolam was first synthesized during drug development in 1971…
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Xylazine: A Toxic Adulterant Found in Illicit Street Drugs
Xylazine was discovered as an antihypertensive agent in 1962 by Farbenfabriken Bayer in Germany. Due to its hazardous side effects, including sedation, hypotension and bradycardia, it was not approved by…
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Prevalence of Synthetic Cannabinoid MDMB-4en-PINACA Continues to Increase in the United States and Internationally
MDMB-4en-PINACA was first identified in toxicology casework in the United States in September 2019; however, its emergence dates back earlier to seized drug testing from Europe in June 2018. MDMB-4en-PINACA…
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Levamisole – A Toxic Adulterant Found in Illicit Street Drugs
Levamisole was initially developed in the mid-1960s as a veterinary and human anti-worming drug. In 1990, it was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a…
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