Travis County Medical Examiner, Austin, Texas, USA.
Society of Forensic Toxicologists Novel Psychoactive Substances Committee, Mesa, Arizona, USA.
J Forensic Sci. 2024 Jul;69(4):1392-1399. doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.15556. Epub 2024 Jun 9.
Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) are everchanging and plague forensic laboratories who must identify an unending variety of emerging substances and evolve current methodologies to detect these substances. Identifying potential regional NPS targets and timely examining trends in seized drug data could help mitigate the burden laboratories face. Over 17 months, NPS seized drug data were processed and categorized from three laboratories located across the United States to determine any NPS regional similarities and prevalent NPS drug categories: the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center (SCRFSC), and the Orange County Crime Laboratory (OCCL). Seized drug materials, including pills, powders, and plant material, were primarily analyzed for NPS via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. From June 2022 to October 2023, 1940 NPS seized drug identifications were reported by these laboratories with 63 different NPS reported. Novel synthetic opioids (NSO) were the most prevalent NPS class across all three laboratories (55%), with fluorofentanyl accounting for 74% of NSO identifications. This is unsurprising given the fentanyl epidemic in the United States. Furthermore, these data highlighted varying regional NPS seized drug trends: eutylone, a synthetic cathinone, was one of the most frequently identified NPS in SLED, SCRFSC observed the most diverse set of synthetic cannabinoids, and OCCL observed an increased prevalence in the designer benzodiazepine, bromazolam. NPS scope recommendations are a valuable resource for forensic laboratories; however, most focus on a national perspective. Timely analysis and reporting of NPS seized drug data may help to develop regional NPS scope recommendations laboratories may employ.
新型精神活性物质（NPS）不断变化，给法医实验室带来了困扰，他们必须识别层出不穷的新型物质，并不断改进现有的检测方法。确定潜在的区域性 NPS 目标，并及时研究缴获毒品数据的趋势，有助于减轻实验室面临的压力。在 17 个多月的时间里，对来自美国三个不同实验室的缴获毒品数据进行了处理和分类，以确定任何区域性 NPS 相似之处和常见的 NPS 毒品类别：南卡罗来纳州执法部门（SLED）、塞奇威克县地区法医科学中心（SCRFSC）和橙县犯罪实验室（OCCL）。缴获的毒品材料，包括药丸、粉末和植物材料，主要通过气相色谱-质谱联用和傅里叶变换红外光谱法进行 NPS 分析。从 2022 年 6 月到 2023 年 10 月，这三个实验室共报告了 1940 种 NPS 缴获毒品鉴定结果，共报告了 63 种不同的 NPS。新型合成阿片类药物（NSO）是这三个实验室中最常见的 NPS 类别（55%），其中氟芬太尼占 NSO 鉴定的 74%。鉴于美国的芬太尼泛滥，这并不奇怪。此外，这些数据突出了不同地区 NPS 缴获毒品的趋势：在 SLED，合成卡西酮类物质乙酮是最常被识别的 NPS 之一；在 SCRFSC，观察到的合成大麻素种类最多；在 OCCL，苯并二氮䓬类药物溴莫隆的检出率增加。NPS 范围建议是法医实验室的宝贵资源；然而，大多数建议都是基于全国范围的。及时分析和报告 NPS 缴获毒品数据，有助于制定实验室可能采用的区域性 NPS 范围建议。
