Date
September 2019
Overview
New psychoactive substances (NPS) have always presented a challenge to analytical laboratories tasked with identifying drugs in biological and nonbiological material. The pace at which new compounds appeared on the illicit drug market increased exponentially in the late 2000s, thus magnifying this challenge. Laboratories possess the technical expertise to develop and validate appropriate analytical methods for detecting new compounds; however, many laboratories lack the time and resources needed to keep up with the quickly changing landscape. This guidance document provides laboratories and practitioners with the resources to effectively respond to a dynamic drug market; this information proposes to help identify potential new drug targets, prioritize analytical targets, evaluate the best instrumental techniques for monitoring casework for new drugs, and develop and validate appropriate analytical methods.
Funding for this Forensic Technology Center of Excellence report was provided by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Contact us at ForensicCOE@rti.org with any questions and subscribe to our newsletter for notifications.
