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Readable research linked to original sources
Browse normalized, publication-ready research with direct links to its evidence and source.
Loading articles data…
Readable research linked to original sources
Browse normalized, publication-ready research with direct links to its evidence and source.
12 articles
Newest firstBackground The potent synthetic cannabinoid ADB-BUTINACA (also known as ADB-BINACA) was implicated in three fatal intoxications. Post-mortem samples, including femoral and heart blood, urine, gastric content, bile, vitreous humor, cerebrospinal fluid, and various tissues (brain, kidney, liver, lung, muscle), were analyzed. All cases were mixed intoxications with pregabalin, heroin, ketamine, MDPHP, or ethanol. Met…
Open article record in new tab ↗The detection of drugs of abuse in biological and non-biological matrices remains a cornerstone of forensic, clinical, and public health investigations. Traditional matrices such as urine and blood provide short-term evidence of drug intake, while alternative specimens such as hair offer extended detection windows, and oral fluid provides a reliable indicator of recent drug intake comparable to blood. This review…
Open article record in new tab ↗The growing use of e-cigarettes as vehicles for illicit drug delivery has created an urgent challenge for forensic surveillance and public health in East Asia. This study analyzed 496 e-liquid samples seized by law-enforcement agencies in Eastern Taiwan (January-July 2025) using a full-scan GC-MS workflow validated in accordance with ANSI/ASB forensic toxicology standards. Overall, 80.8% of samples (n = 401) teste…
Open article record in new tab ↗After the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) introduced mail photocopying procedures in December 2021, a shift in smuggling methods was observed for synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) and other new psychoactive substances (NPS) from drug-infused papers back to traditional sample matrices (e.g., tablets and powders), although new matrices also emerged. This study reports on waxy- or putty-like materials as…
New psychoactive substances (NPS) pose an increasing challenge for clinical and forensic toxicology due to the initial lack of analytical and metabolic data. This study evaluates the performance of four in silico prediction tools (GLORYx, BioTransformer 3.0, SyGMa, and MetaTrans) in predicting the metabolism of seven NPS from five major chemical families (cathinones, synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic opioids, desi…
Purpose We report a case of a polydrug user who consumed various synthetic cannabinoids and fentanyl from a transdermal patch via a bucket bong. Toxicological results from postmortem matrices with special focus on synthetic cannabinoids are discussed in terms of their relevance to the death. Methods The samples were analyzed by toxicological screening procedures involving immunoassays and gas chromatography-mass s…
Background Since late 2019, fortification of 'regular' cannabis plant material with synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) has become a notable phenomenon on the drug market. As many SCRAs pose a higher health risk than genuine cannabis, recognizing SCRA-adulterated cannabis is important from a harm reduction perspective. However, this is not always an easy task as adulterated cannabis may only be disting…
Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs, "Spice") are a diverse group of recreational drugs, with their structural and pharmacological variability still evolving. Forensic toxicologists often rely on previous reports to assess their role in intoxication cases. This work provides detailed information on the "Spice"-related fatalities around Munich, Germany, from 2014 to 2020. All cases underwent an autopsy.…
Purpose In forensics, entomological specimens can be used as additional/alternative matrices to detect xenobiotics when human specimens are limited in their application. Despite some advantages over implementing putrefied human remains, most medico-legal laboratories do not include entomotoxicological procedures as routine analytical methods. We thus applied two authentic cases to evaluate necrophagous larvae's po…
Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) represent a severe health risk for drug users. Even though the phenomenon has been growing since the early 2000s, the mechanisms of action of NPS at the receptors and beyond them are still scarcely understood. The aim of the present study was to provide a systematic review of the updated knowledge regarding the molecular mechanisms underlying the toxicity of synthetic opioids, c…
Open article record in new tab ↗BACKGROUND: Illegal drug use has long been a global concern. Taiwan and Korea are geographically adjacent and both countries have experienced the illegal use problems of methamphetamine, a predominant prototype of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS). NPS, a term coined by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in recent years, have not been scrutinized for their safety and may become a new threat to pu…
Open article record in new tab ↗Unlabelled The definition New psychoactive substances (NPS) refers to emerging drugs whose chemical structures are similar to other psychoactive compounds but not identical, representing a "legal" alternative to internationally controlled drugs. There are many categories of NPS, such as synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic cathinones, phenylethylamines, piperazines, ketamine derivatives and tryptamines. Tryptamines a…
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