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Readable research linked to original sources
Browse normalized, publication-ready research with direct links to its evidence and source.
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Readable research linked to original sources
Browse normalized, publication-ready research with direct links to its evidence and source.
21 articles
Newest firstThe performance of the SAMElife™ rapid hair screening kit was evaluated for the detection of drugs of abuse in 31 anonymized hair samples, encompassing 217 analyses for morphine, cocaine, amphetamines, buprenorphine, oxycodone, fentanyl, and methadone. Screening results were compared with confirmatory gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analyse…
Open article record in new tab ↗Semi-synthetic cannabinoids are a class of new psychoactive substances (NPSs) with structural similarities to the main psychoactive phytocannabinoid Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) found in Cannabis sativa L. The first semi-synthetic cannabinoids, which were used as legal substitutes for marijuana, were Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ8-THC) and hexahydrocannabinol (HHC). Δ8-THC emerged around 2019 on the recreational…
Cannabinoid use and misuse has been rising since 2011, and the development of new cannabinoid derivatives, partially due to the passage of the Farm Bill in 2018, and more relaxed legislation, has complicated testing for this drug class. The impact on child welfare in homes with cannabis substance use remains a concern, so detection of environmental exposure to cannabinoids is hugely beneficial. This article report…
Open article record in new tab ↗Recently developed dried blood analysis methods for cannabinoid quantitation utilize small blood volumes, making them microsampling-compatible, but are limited by hematocrit-related bias for dried blood spots (DBSs) and higher consumable costs for volumetric absorptive microsampling (VAMS®). To address these issues, we developed a highly sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method ca…
Assessment of drugs of abuse in biological fluids requires thorough knowledge of stability of the drugs under various conditions, including sample collection, handling, transportation, and analysis, to ensure accurate interpretation of results. This systematic review provides an overview of the literature on the pre-analytical stability of selected clinically relevant drugs of abuse in urine. A systematic search o…
Open article record in new tab ↗Hemp products [cannabis with ≤0.3% Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC)] are federally legal, but few controlled experiments have explored drug test results, pharmacokinetics, or pharmacodynamics. Healthy adults (n = 60) self-administered 1.5 mL medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil containing 100 mg cannabidiol (CBD) and either 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 2.8, or 3.7 mg Δ9-THC (n = 10 per group). The study included an 8-hour acute d…
This letter addresses the article by Deeb et al. describing the analysis of cannabinoids in exhaled breath. While the study represents a technical advancement in breath-based detection, several interpretive and analytical limitations warrant clarification. The manuscript discusses potential impairment-related applications despite the absence of direct measures of impairment. Existing literature, including controll…
Open article record in new tab ↗The increase of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in breath after cannabis inhalation has been well-documented in the forensic field, but the trends after ingestion of cannabis-infused edibles have not yet been investigated. In this study, participants ingested a cannabis-infused edible and provided breath samples before and at three timepoints after ingestion. Participants were assigned to one of two breath sampling…
Open article record in new tab ↗Ongoing legalization of cannabis for recreational use contributes to increasing numbers not only of incidents of driving under the influence, but within all forensic fields. In addition, newly emerging cannabinoids such as hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) and the increasing use of cannabidiol (CBD) products have to be addressed. The aims of this study were first to extend laboratory analysis capacity for the "established…
Open article record in new tab ↗This study focused on the simultaneous detection of amphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxy methamphetamine, morphine, benzoylecgonine, and 11-nor-9-carboxy-tetrahydrocannabinol in whole blood and dried blood spot (DBS). It is aimed to select a solvent mixture for liquid-liquid extraction technique employing liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). The obtained DBS results were compared with the whole bl…
Open article record in new tab ↗On-site drug screening of oral fluid samples has gained attention because of its convenience and rapid results. The aim of this investigation was to compare the results of preliminary screening for drugs in oral fluid samples collected from suspected drug-impaired drivers using DrugWipe 6S and WipeAlyser reader with the results obtained from blood samples. Additionally, we compared the DrugWipe test results with f…
Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) is the most prominent and main psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis. In forensic matters involving cannabis, such as drugged driving or workplace accident investigations, blood Δ9-THC determination is typically required. Venipuncture by a phlebotomist at a medical facility is often the standard blood collection protocol, but this procedure is time consuming and requires speci…
Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC), 6,6,9-trimethyl-3-pentyl-6a,7,8,9,10,10a-hexahydrobenzo[c]chromen-1-ol, is a semi-synthetic cannabinoid that has presented challenges to analytical laboratories due to its emergence and spread in the drug market. The lack of information on human pharmacokinetics hinders the development and application of presumptive and confirmatory tests for reliably detecting HHC consumption. To addres…
Maternal drug use during pregnancy is a significant concern. Drug-exposed newborns are often born premature and may suffer from birth defects, neonatal abstinence syndrome and cognitive and developmental delays. Because of this, testing of neonatal specimens is carried out to assess fetal drug exposure during pregnancy. Umbilical cord tissue (UC) and meconium are commonly used specimens for this purpose. However,…
Open article record in new tab ↗Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) remain a major public health concern, with their use implicated in intoxications and drug-related deaths worldwide. Increasing our systematic understanding of SCRA metabolism supports clinical and forensic toxicology casework, facilitating the timely identification of analytical targets for toxicological screening procedures and confirmatory analysis. This is particu…
An important role of modern forensic and clinical toxicologists is to monitor the adverse events of novel psychoactive substances (NPS). Following a prior review from 2013 to 2016, this critical literature review analyzes and evaluates published case reports for NPS from January 2017 through December 2020. The primary objective of this study is to assist in the assessment and interpretation of these cases as well…
Due to a lack of published pharmacokinetic (PK) and/or pharmacodynamic (PD) data, informed physician and patient decision-making surrounding appropriate dosing of cannabis for medical purposes is limited. This Phase 1, multiple-dose study evaluated the safety, tolerability, PK and PD of Spectrum Red softgels (2.5 mg Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and <0.25 mg cannabidiol (CBD)). Participants (n = 41) were randomize…
Open article record in new tab ↗N-Ethylhexedrone [2-(ethyloamino)-1-phenylhexan-1-one; α-ethylaminohexanophenone (NEH)] is one of the most recent synthetic cathinones that appeared on the illegal market in late 2015. The majority of information concerning the model of consumption of NEH and its impact on the body originates only from self-reports from gray literature websites and drug forums. There are only limited data associated with the conce…
The use of designer benzodiazepines appears to be increasing in many countries, but data concerning blood concentrations are scarce, making interpretation of concentrations difficult. The aim of this study was to report blood concentrations of clonazolam, diclazepam, etizolam, flualprazolam, flubromazepam, flubromazolam and phenazepam and to investigate the relationship between blood concentrations and impairment.…
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