The Fredric Rieders Family Renaissance Foundation

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

VALIDATOIN OF A MASS SPECTROMETRY BASED SEROLOGICAL ASSAY

ILLICIT AND RECREATIONAL DRUG USE IN THE UNITED STATES ARE MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS TO MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY, ESPECIALLY AMONG VULNERABLE POPULATIONS. WHILE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY CONTINUE TO COMBAT HARMS LINKED TO DRUG USE, CONTINUOUS CHALLENGING PHENOMENA REMAIN POSING FORENSIC AND LEGAL CONSEQUENCES. ONE ASPECT IS CERTAIN – DRUG TRENDS AND DRUG USE PATTERNS CONTINUE TO CHANGE AND EVOLVE WITH TIME AND GEOGRAPHICAL REGION, ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF NEW AND EMERGING DRUG THREATS. NEW SYNTHETIC DRUGS, ALSO REFERRED TO AS NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES (NPS), REPRESENT A GROWING SUB-CLASS OF CONCERN AS PHARMACOLOGICAL POTENCIES INCREASE AND NEW DRUGS INFILTRATE TRADITIONAL DRUG SUPPLIES. KEEPING PACE WITH THE MOST CURRENT DRUGS REMAINS ONE OF THE GREATEST TECHNICAL CHALLENGES FACING FORENSIC CHEMISTS AND TOXICOLOGISTS TODAY. THIS MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROPOSAL IS DESIGNED TO BUILD ON PRIOR NIJ-FUNDED RESEARCH IN METHOD DEVELOPMENT, VALIDATION, AND APPLICATION TO APPLY NOVEL TOOLS TO THE IDENTIFICATION OF EMERGING DRUGS, TO CHARACTERIZE THESE DRUGS IN FORENSIC TOXICOLOGICAL AND CHEMISTRY SAMPLES, AND TO SHARE METHODS, ANALYTICAL DATA, TOXICOLOGICAL DATA, AND MORE, WITH THE FORENSIC PRACTITIONER COMMUNITY. OUR LABORATORY WILL PARTNER WITH MEDICAL EXAMINERS, CORONERS, TOXICOLOGISTS, CHEMISTS, LAW ENFORCEMENT, PUBLIC HEALTH, AND VARIOUS FORENSIC LABORATORIES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES TO ACQUIRE AND ANALYZE AUTHENTIC TOXICOLOGY SAMPLES (E.G., BLOOD, URINE) AND DRUG MATERIALS (E.G., POWDER, PILL). LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY QUADRUPOLE TIME-OF-FLIGHT MASS SPECTROMETRY (LC-QTOF-MS) AND LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY TANDEM QUADRUPOLE MASS SPECTROMETRY (LC-QQQ-MS) WILL PRIMARILY BE USED FOR COMPREHENSIVE DRUG TESTING. NPS IN THE DRUG SUPPLY WILL BE DISCOVERED THROUGH EXTENSIVE SURVEILLANCE INITIATIVES FOLLOWED BY DRUG MONITORING TO DETERMINE PREVALENCE, POSITIVITY, TRENDS, DRUG COMBINATIONS, AND OTHER CHARACTERISTICS. METABOLISM OF NEWLY DISCOVERED NPS WILL BE STUDIED TO ASSIST TOXICOLOGY INVESTIGATIONS. NEW CONFIRMATORY METHODS WILL BE RAPIDLY DEVELOPED FOR APPLICATION TO AUTHENTIC SAMPLES, GAINING DRUG CONCENTRATION DATA TO DEVELOP REFERENCE RANGES. ALL ACQUIRED DATA AND INFORMATION WILL BE PROCESSED INTO HIGH-IMPACT REPORTS TO SERVE AS BLUEPRINTS FOR SCIENTISTS, CLINICIANS, PRACTITIONERS, AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS INTERESTED IN VARIOUS INFORMATION ABOUT NEWLY EMERGING DRUGS AND THEIR IMPACTS. A KEY COMPONENT OF THIS PROJECT IS THE EXTENSIVE DISSEMINATION OF DELIVERABLE TO THE FORENSIC SCIENCE, CRIMINAL JUSTICE, PUBLIC HEALTH, AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNITIES. REPORTS AND PUBLICATION WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE OPEN-ACCESS TO FORENSIC SCIENCE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE PARTNERS. OVERALL, THIS RESEARCH WILL FACILITATE AND ENSURE MORE ACCURATE AND TIMELY REPORTING OF NEW DRUGS, AID SCHEDULING AND CONTROL ACTIONS, AND ASSIST WITH INTERDICTION EFFORTS AND DRUG TRAFFICKING INTELLIGENCE. CA/NCF

REAL-TIME SAMPLE-MINING AND DATA-MINING APPROACHES FOR THE DISCOVERY OF NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES (NPS)

COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR BODY FLUID IDENTIFICATION

TOXICOLOGICAL TIME TRAVEL: RETROSPECTIVE DATAMINING OF ANALYTICAL TIME-OF-FLIGHT MASS SPECTROMETRY DATA FOR EVALUATING THE RISE AND FALL OF NOVEL OPIOID AND FENTANYL ANALOG USE IN THE UNITED STATES

RETROSPECTIVE IDENTIFICATION OF SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS IN FORENSIC TOXICOLOGY CASEWORK USING ARCHIVED HIGH RESOLUTION MASS SPECTROMETRY DATA

EVALUATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF DNA RECOVERY AND AMPLIFICATION FROM BULLET CARTRIDGE CASES

ASSESSMENT OF THE CONTRIBUTION TO DRUG IMPAIRED DRIVING FROM EMERGING AND UNDERTESTED DRUGS

IDENTIFICATION OF ANTICOAGULANT ADULTERANTS IN SEIZED MATERIAL AND BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES

MONITORING CHANGES IN THE NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCE (NPS) MARKET THROUGH ENHANCED IDENTIFICATION OF EMERGING DRUGS AND THEIR METABOLITES IN BIOL

DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE WORKFLOW FOR POSTMORTEM INSULIN TESTING IN CASES OF SUSPECTED INSULIN HOMICIDE

IDENTIFICATION AND PREVALENCE DETERMINATION OF NOVEL RECREATIONAL DRUGS AND DISCOVERY OF THEIR METABOLITES IN BLOOD, URINE AND ORAL FLUID