Vienna, AUSTRIA – January 2017: A joint UNODC-TIAFT (The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists) data collection initiative piloted a tool for collecting toxicology data related to NPS. This initiative aims at improving the mechanism for the prioritization of NPS with the greatest potential harm for international action. In the pilot exercise, information was obtained from 128 NPS use cases submitted by 15 toxicologists. Among these cases, 76 per cent were associated with poly-drug use involving over 190 substances and metabolites. A direct assignment of causality to a specific substance is difficult. This study demonstrates that establishing ‘associations’ of substances with adverse events in cases of poly-substance use is a prudent approach. This is done with the view of assigning causality only after a detailed analyses of a large sample set of such ‘associations’. The results of the study were published in Forensic Science International, “Toxicology in international drug control—Prioritizing the most harmful, persistent and prevalent substances”.

Figure 1: Frequency of NPS associated with post-mortem cases in the pilot study

For more information, please see:

Article on Toxicology in international drug control—Prioritizing the most harmful, persistent and prevalent substances – http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0379073816304984