Novel Psychoactive Substance Discovery, Education, and Reporting Institute

The recreational drug environment in the United States is more dynamic and volatile than ever before, in large part due to the dominance of potent legacy synthetic drugs, emergence of novel psychoactive substances (NPS), and the continued proliferation of new adulterants into traditional drug supplies. Keeping pace with NPS drugs and drug trends remains one of the greatest technical and analytical challenges facing forensic scientists, and one of the greatest public health threats to communities where drug use is prevalent. One aspect of NPS remains clear – these drugs continue to emerge and proliferate throughout national drug markets with varying waves of positivity and prevalence. Our multidisciplinary proposal is designed to leverage and build on prior NIJ-funded research in new technology, method developments, validation, and application to facilitate the delivery of the Novel Psychoactive Substance Discovery, Education, and Reporting Institute (“NPS DiscERn”). Our research team will rapidly identify emerging substances and changes to drug markets by characterizing novel drugs in diverse and high-risk populations (e.g., medicolegal death investigations, drug impaired driving, clinical intoxications, wastewater surveillance, drug material testing, etc.). Our goal is to rapidly share methods, analytical data, toxicological findings, metabolism research, and more with the forensic practitioner community and beyond to improve rates of detection of new and emerging drugs. Our proposed project will ensure accurate and timely reporting of NPS, aid scheduling and control actions, support harm reduction and treatment strategies, and assist with interdiction and drug trafficking intelligence efforts. Sample sources and populations will primarily include forensic toxicology specimens, clinical toxicology specimens, and drug material samples – three key aspects to accurately assess the drug market and fatal vs. non-fatal outcomes. The main objectives of this proposal are to: 1) establish and facilitate the operation of an open-access drug early warning system, 2) develop analytical resources to assist laboratories, 3) facilitate the forensically relevant drug database as a go-to resource for information regarding NPS, and 4) provide education and knowledge transfer regarding findings and outcomes. This approach will strengthen the forensic science community by relieving the burden on practicing laboratories to perform in-house surveillance, monitoring, research, complex confirmations, and new method developments. Letters of support from forensic toxicologists and chemists, crime laboratory personnel, public health and safety agencies, clinical practitioners, and state/federal partners are included to reinforce the value of timely data and accurate information that can be distributed across various channels with interest to public health and safety. CA/NCF