OUR HISTORY

The Center for Forensic Science Research and Education (CFSRE) launched NPS Discovery in 2018 as an avenue for rapid and timely dissemination of vital information regarding the detection of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) in the United States (US), filling the void for a program that did not exist nationally. The genesis of the program involved the development of New Drug Monographs which included chemical information, a brief description, and analytical data. These documents continue to serve as notification that new NPS are present in the US recreational drug supply, allowing scientists and practitioners to respond accordingly in their respective jurisdictions. Since 2018, NPS Discovery has grown exponentially to become a premier open-access drug early warning system by utilizing an evidence-based approach to lead the development of additional high impact data and reports for real-time action.

Also in 2018, NPS Discovery began an initiative to track emerging drug trends through the re-analysis of authentic forensic casework samples, including both biological specimens (e.g., blood, urine, serum, plasma) and drug materials (e.g., pills, powders, plant materials). This effort has continued through today and has allowed for the production of Quarterly Trend Reports for each NPS subclass. These data have also allowed for the creation of Public Alerts to rapidly notify stakeholders of drug threats based on increasing positivity and prevalence with potential for increased morbidity and/or mortality. In 2020, NPS Discovery unveiled two new initiatives with public health and clinical partners, showcasing newly developed Drug Checking data and expanded toxicological Clinical Testing on patients in emergency department settings, respectively. Most recently in 2021, NPS Discovery introduced a nation-wide, multi-jurisdictional effort to develop NPS Scope Recommendations as a testing resource for laboratories trying to keep up with ever-changing drug trends by implementing new method additions, developments, and/or validations. Additionally, our program has undertaken various Research Projects relating to NPS, including monitoring of drug use fora and gray market vendor sites and assessments of pharmacology and toxicity, among many other rapid growing and expanding initiatives.

Since 2018, the CFSRE’s NPS Discovery program has produced more than 185 new drug monographs to alert stakeholder about the emergence of various new benzodiazepines, opioids, stimulants, hallucinogens, cannabinoids, and miscellaneous drugs. Trend analyses in forensic samples have shown the emergence and proliferation of new generations of opioids (e.g., nitazene analogues) linked to scheduling of fentanyl-related substances. Beginning in 2020, an exponential increase in benzodiazepine positivity was observed, with high rates of incidence with fentanyl and other opioids. Turnover of cannabinoids has continued, leading up to the recent detection of new generation cannabinoids (e.g., OXIZIDs), as well as synthetic precursors (e.g., MDMB-INACA used to make 5F-ADB and MDMB-4en-PINACA), post Chinese generic scheduling efforts. Changes among stimulant and hallucinogen subclasses have been observed to be slower and less volatile; however, major shifts (i.e., from eutylone to dimethylpentylone) have changed the stimulant market over time.

Pairing of data from public health and public safety realms has allowed NPS Discovery to triangulate knowledge and information in manners not previously available in the US. While our program was initially designed with forensic toxicology workflows in mind, it remains suited well for analysis of samples collected among other fields of forensic science and other fields outside of the forensic space. Additionally, the NPS Discovery model and its associated reports are now consumed internationally for comparison of global drug markets and over NPS impacts. This webinar aims to provide an update with respect to each NPS subclass, as well as an overview of our re-launched website and new webpages.

OUR NPS DISCOVERY TEAM

DEFINING NEW/NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES (NPS)

We have refined the European community definition of "NPS" as a natural, synthetic or semi-synthetic substance, in pure form, mixture or preparation, that can be categorized using at least one of the following criteria:

1. A substance that has been discovered or synthesized for the first time since the mid-2000s and is being ingested, regardless of degree of psychoactive effect (e.g., MDMB-4en-PINACA, N-pyrrolidino etonitazene).
2. A substance that was previously discovered, synthesized or reported (e.g., patents, literature publications) but has been observed in the current recreational drug supply or identified in toxicological samples for the first time in more than 10 years (e.g., 2-methyl AP-237, isotonitazene).
3. A substance that since the mid-2000s has been used in a novel way or differing manner from its originally intended use (i.e., different dosage form or amount to produce effects and different preparation) (examples could include fentanyl, loperamide, or xylazine).
4. A substance that previously was not well described or studied but now presents significant challenges or threats due to an altered toxicological effect profile as a result of increased use or popularity (examples could include mitragynine or THC isomers).
5. A substance that is not controlled by the United Nations drug conventions (1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs or the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances) but that may pose a public health threat comparable to that posed by substances listed in these conventions (examples could include quetiapine or O-desmethyltramadol).

COLLABORATORS

The CFSRE's NPS Discovery has developed an extensive and multidisciplinary network of collaborators, working closely with the forensic science community, medical examiners and coroners, crime laboratories, toxicology laboratories, public health and safety agencies, and many others. NPS Discovery was designed with analytical testing at its core, focusing on both novel testing for NPS and overall comprehensive drug testing on toxicology specimens, drug materials, and other samples of interest. NPS Discovery has developed a variety of methodology and workflows for novel, prospective, and retrospective identification of emerging drugs through the use of highly sensitive and sophisticated mass spectrometry assays. Through vast collaborations and innovate testing, NPS Discovery continually seeks to identify novel drugs on their first instance within the drug supply, monitor increases in drug-related harms and overdoses through nation-wide toxicology testing, and track the prevalence and positivity of individual drugs as they emerge and eventually wane among the increasingly diverse drug supply.

We would like to acknowledge our extensive network of collaborative NPS partners, including, but not limited to, NMS Labs, many medical examiner and coroner offices, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH), researchers at Ghent University, the Designer Drug Research Unit (DDRU) at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the UMass Division of Medical Toxicology, StreetCheck and Brandeis University, the Cook County and Chicago Departments of Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, PA Groundhogs, researchers at NYU Langone Health, the American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) and their Toxicology Investigators Consortium (ToxIC), and the National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS), among many many others. In addition, the CFSRE appreciates its technical collaborative partners: Cayman Chemical, SCIEX, Waters Corporation, Agilent Technologies, and Bruker Corporation.



For more information about the CFSRE, NPS Discovery, and our related programs or initiatives, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..