Live Online Forensic Symposium
when: JANUARY 26th - JANUARY 30TH, 2026, FROM 8:45AM - 12PM ET EACH DAY, with afternoon workshops beginning at 1pm et.
Program Chairs:
Dr. Carl Fletcher (Defence Science & Technology Laboratory),
Dr. Terra Dassau (U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and
Samantha Ollerton (Precision Plus Consulting)
A warm welcome to the 2026 Current Trends in Seized Drugs Analysis Symposium! We invite you to enjoy and engage in a week of exciting presentations from scientists from academia, government and industry.
This year’s symposium focuses on drugs today, and drugs tomorrow. In other words, what are the drug analysis problems we face today and what emerging threats are we likely to see? Followed by, how will Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) or novel techniques improve drug analysis?
- Monday - Global Trends: We begin the week by discussing the current global trends seen for drugs and novel psychoactive substances (NPS), touching on predictions of what drugs are coming next.
- Tuesday - SWGDRUG: The Scientific Working Group for the Analysis of Seized Drugs (SWGDRUG) will give presentations covering statistical sampling methods, forensic drugs testing procedures and the rise of semi-synthetic drugs.
- Wednesday - Clandestine Laboratories: In previous years, audience feedback has asked for more insight to clandestine laboratories and frontline operations. This year we bring a diverse agenda covering cannabis extraction, semi-synthetic cannabinoids, and two customs cases including complex cocaine analysis.
- Thursday - AI/ML: The penultimate day brings the application of AI/ML to a range of analysis tools from field portable techniques to the laboratory and even wastewater.
- Friday - Novel Techniques: Closing the week with tradition, we will have presentations on the most recent analytical developments that will have an impact on drugs analysis.
Don’t forget to check out the Poster Session and the award for the student poster award (Thurs) presented by CFSRE!
Also please stick around for the workshops that follow the daily discussion panels to hear about some of the exciting techniques in drug analysis.
The Current Trends in Seized Drug Analysis Symposium is designed for YOU! The success of the symposium depends on your active participation, so please feel free to ask questions, share your knowledge and challenges, and provide suggestions for future speakers, session topics and any other feedback where possible.
SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE PROGRAM CHAIRS
