DUBLIN Th Th May 5 – 8 2015

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ENFSI Drugs Working Group Conference

DUBLIN th th May 5 – 8 2015

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2 A Brief History of Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle is situated in the very heart of historic Dublin. For more than 700 years, from 1200 until the formation of the Irish Republic in 1921, it was the centre of the English colonial administration in Ireland. A sprawling complex of historic buildings from between 930 and 1830, it offers a unique insight into Dublin‘s diverse history.

In 930, the Vikings built fortifications at the junction of the River Liffey and its tributary, the now underground River Poddle. The site was called Dubh Linn in Irish, which means Black Pool.

When the Normans invaded Dublin in 1169, they picked Dublin Castle as their stronghold. The first 'castle' in the proper sense of the word - stone walls and ditches - was completed by the English in 1230. The Great Courtyard of today corresponds closely with these fortifications, with the Record Tower as the last intact medieval tower of Dublin. The tower served as a high security prison in Tudor times.

Dublin Castle was the dungeon for state prisoners and the seat of Parliament, which met in the Great Hall before the hall burnt down in the great fire of 1684 and Parliament moved to College Green in 1731. The Courts of Law and the Court of Exchequer also met at Dublin Castle. The Castle further housed the repository of the Royal Treasury and the Royal Mint, army and police barracks, armaments factories and weapons stores.

As a symbol of English reign, Dublin Castle was a key target during the Easter Rising of 1916, which marked the first step towards the end of British rule in Ireland. One of the first fatalities of the Rising was a policeman named O'Brien, who attempted to shut the Castle's Cork Hill Gate on an advancing rebel party.

We are fortunate that Dublin Castle survived the subsequent Civil War, the transition to Irish nationhood and fall into disrepair. The site has been occupied over the ages and modified to suit its ever-changing functions. All the historic buildings have been restored and the Castle is now fully integrated into Irish society. It now plays host to European Union Presidencies, Heads of State, and leaders of business, industry and government. It is also a major tourist attraction and citizens of all nations experience the varied facilities and the unique historic layers revealed throughout the complex - from the Medieval Tower to the world treasures of the Chester Beatty Library and from the Viking Defence Bank to the splendid State Apartments.

3 Contents

Conference Programme 5

ENFSI Drugs Sub-Committee Reports 10

Presentation Abstracts 12

Poster Abstracts 31

Workshop Abstracts 36

Conference Participants 38

Local Organising Committee

John Power [email protected]

Michelle Boyle [email protected]

Rose Campbell [email protected]

Sarah Campbell [email protected]

Lynn Carroll [email protected]

Hugh Coyle [email protected]

Tom Hannigan [email protected]

Brendan Lynch [email protected]

Peggy McGlynn [email protected]

Pauline Nixon [email protected]

4 Programme Drugs working group meeting Dublin, 2015

(Presentation slots include time for questions where possible – additional questions may be directed to speakers during break times. Due to the large number of presentations, programme may be adjusted if speakers run over/under time.)

Time Monday, May 4th 2015

09:00-17:00 Steering Committee Meeting Jury’s Hotel Chair: Udo Zerell, Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), Wiesbaden, Germany

Time Tuesday, May 5th 2015

10:00-13:00 Dublin Castle Conference Centre

Profiling Subcommittee, Quality Assurance Subcommittee, Profiling Subcommittee, Quantitative Sampling Subcommittee and Education & Training Subcommittee.

10:00-13:00 Registration at Dublin Castle Conference Centre, uploading of Presentations and submission of Posters

14:00 Opening – Welcome

Official Opening of Conference:

Dr. Leo Varadkar Minister of Health, Ireland.

Welcome and Practical Issues:

DWG Chairman Udo Zerell, Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), Wiesbaden, Germany and John Power, Forensic Science Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.

14:30 Session 1: Scientific Session Chair: Irene Breum Müller

O1 - „An Irish experience of framing Drugs laws‟ - Marita Kinsella Former Head, Irish Drugs Legislative Unit, Department of Health (30 mins)

O2 - „National collaboration regarding NPS‟ - Åsa Klasén, Anna Stenfeldt Hennings Swedish National Forensic Centre - NFC (20 mins) O3 - „New Psychoactive substances according to the Polish Drug Prevention Act‟ - Jewita Polak Central Forensic Laboratory of the Police, Warsaw, Poland (20 mins)

15:40 Coffee break / Late registrations

16:10 Welcome by the Host Representative:

Dr. Sheila Willis Director General of Forensic Science Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.

Session 2: Sub-Committee Reports Chair: Natasa Radosavljevic-Stevanovic

1. Quality Assurance 2. Results of Proficiency Test

3. Profiling 4. Quantitative Sampling

5. Education and Training 6. Communication

7. Hypergeometric Ad-hoc Committee

8. New Subcommittee Proposal

18:00 End of Day 1

Social Time: Jameson’s Distillery Function, leaving Jury’s Christchurch at 18:45

Time Wednesday, May 6th 2015

09:00-12:35 Session 3: Scientific Session

The Moderators, along with a note-taker from the Host Lab, will lead workshops.

Delegates will be divided into groups and attend workshops in rotation. Workshops will be 45 minutes in duration, followed by time to move on to the next workshop.

09:00 Workshop 1: Experiences with generic law Moderator - Fraser Johnston

10:00 Workshop 2: Do we need new technologies for forensic drug analysis? Moderator – John Power

11:00 Coffee break and interaction with Exhibitors / Posters

11:45 Workshop 3: Is accreditation limiting the analytical strategy? Moderator – Ulla-Maija Laakkonen

12:35 Exhibitor Presentations Chair: Host Representative

09:00-18:00 Session 4: Poster Session (running all day)

Poster 1 - TLC of benzodiazepines using non-harmful solvents Ørjan Bye National Criminal Investigation Service (Kripos), Norway.

Poster 2 - Statistical interpretation of banknotes from seizures: from general circulation or drug trafficking? Philippe Hérard1, Olivier Roussel1*, Daniel Chopineaux1, Lauriane Tensorer1, Xavier Bouvot1, Michelle G. Carlin2, 1 Forensic Toxicology Unit, Forensic Sciences Laboratory of the French Gendarmerie, Pontoise, France 2 Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Ellison Place, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, U.K.

Poster 3 - Wet amphetamine is full of harmful, organic solvents Lotte Ask Reitzel, Mette Nærø, Irene Breum Müller, Section of Forensic Chemistry, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederik V‘s vej 11, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.

Poster 4 - Quantification of Synthetic Cannabinoids in Spice using NMR Jenny Rosengren Holmberg, Simon Dunne, Drug Unit, Swedish National Forensic Centre - NFC, Linköping, Sweden.

Poster 5 - Application of stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry for the comparison of new psychoactive substances Dr. Róbert Rémiás Hungarian Institute for Forensic Sciences

Poster 6 – A systematical methodology for finding novel NPS (New Psychoactive Substances) on the Internet. Nathalie Kahrle Atterlord¹, Petur Weide Dalsgaard¹, Niels Bjerre Holm¹, Irene Breum Müller¹, Kristian Linnet¹, Lotte Ask Reitzel¹ ¹Section of Forensic Chemistry, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederik V´s Vej 11, DK-2100, Denmark

Poster 7 – New Psychoactive Substances Prevalence in Samples Tested in the NDTC laboratory 2010-2015 S McNamara, S Stokes, A Shine HSE National Drug Treatment Centre

6 13:00 Lunch

14:00-15:25 Session 5: Scientific Session Chair: Åsa Klasén

O4 - Food Hemp Product or a Way of Smuggling Cannabis? Maria Afxentiou Science and Toxicology Department, State General Laboratory-Cyprus (20 mins)

O5 - Survey on the detection and analysis of cutting agents in illicit drugs: the results N. Gentile (20 mins)

O6 - Expansion into new spaces and the shift from drug discovery to recreational substance use: contextualizing the „NBOMe‟ story Dr. Simon Brandt School of Pharmacy & Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) (20 mins)

O7 - Characterisation of NPS by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography- quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry technique (UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS) Y. Boumrah Institut National de Criminalistique et de Criminologie (INCC/GN), Bouchaoui, Alger, Algérie;. (20 mins)

15:25 Coffee break and interaction with Exhibitors / Posters

16:00 Session 6: Scientific Session Chair: Hugh Coyle, Forensic Science Ireland

O8 - New Training Facility for Illicit Drugs Labs Dismantling Education Natasa Radosavljevic-Stevanovic The National Criminal-Technical Center, Ministry of Interior, Republic of Serbia (20 mins)

O9 - A modern approach to human drug residue analysis Dr. Julie Tierney The State Laboratory, Ireland (20 mins)

O10 - The Statistics of Drugs, Psychoactive Substances and their Precursors Detection from 2012 to 2014 in the Republic of Armenia Hayk Kasparyan Head of Drugs, Psychoactive Substances and Poisons Examinations Unit (20 mins)

O11 - Identification and characterization of some novel by-products formed during the synthesis of amphetamine and mephedrone J. D. Power Forensic Science Ireland, Garda HQ, Dublin 8, Ireland (20 mins)

O12 - EU co-funded project “RESPONSE” - presentation of some activities Sonja Klemenc Ministry of the interior – Police, National Forensic Laboratory (20 mins)

O13 - Evaluating the Physical Characteristics of 'Ecstasy' Tablets for Forensic Drug Intelligence Purposes Mario Mifsud 1, Sue Jickells2, Janet Mifsud3, Kim Wolff4 1Forensic Laboratory Services, Malta; 2Faculty of Science, University of East Anglia, Norwich, 3Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Malta, 4Institute of Psychiatry, National Addiction Centre, King‘s College London (20 mins)

18:00 End of Day 2

Social Time: Conference Banquet, Portrait Room, Dublin Castle. Drinks Reception at 19:30, Meal at 20:00

Time Thursday, May 7th 2015

09:00-11:45 Session 7: Scientific Session Chair: Udo Zerell

7 O14 - 2015 Update from the Scientific Working Group for the Analysis of Seized Drugs (SWGDRUG) Scott R. Oulton SWGDRUG Chair Drug Enforcement Administration Office of Forensic Sciences Arlington, VA 22202 (20 mins)

O15 - New Psychoactive Substances in Europe – Diversity and Challenges Rachel Christie, Ana Gallegos Action on new drugs sector — Supply reduction and new drugs unit European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), Lisbon, Portugal (20 mins)

O16 - Developments in the International Drug Control and UNODC Response Iphigenia Naidis Laboratory and Scientific Section, Research and Trend Analysis Branch, Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, A-1400 Vienna, Austria (15 mins)

O17 - Slovenia at the cutting edge of new cumyl- derivatives and some other types of synthetic cannabinoids - by chance or by choice Sonja Klemenc Ministry of the interior – Police, National Forensic laboratory (15 mins)

O18 - Captagon tablets - a story between the logo parentheses Ehud (Udi) Wolf, PhD Analytical lab, DIFS, Israel police, Jerusalem, Israel (15 mins)

O19 – Chemical identification and spectroscopic characterisation of New Psychoactive Substances Claude Guillou European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, Chemical Assessment & Testing Unit

10:40 Coffee break

11:00 Reports back from Workshops 1, 2 & 3 (10 mins each)

11:30 Workshop 4: Sampling of Illicit Drugs for Quantitative Analysis

This special Workshop will take approximately 4 hours in total to complete.

Moderators:

Tamas Csesztregi, Hungarian Institute for Forensic Sciences, Hungary Laurence Dujourdy, Institut National de Police Scientifique, France Michael Bovens*, Forensic Science Institute Zurich, Switzerland

Experiences with the Guidelines on Sampling of Illicit Drugs for Quantitative Analysis Björn Ahrens Bundeskriminalamt , Germany

13:00 Lunch

14:00 Continuation of Workshop 4

16:30 Evaluation of Conference, in particular, did Workshop format meet expectations? Announcement of 2016 ENFSI Drugs Meeting (Sonja Klemenc, Slovenia)

Close of Scientific Meeting: DWG chairman Udo Zerell, Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), Wiesbaden, Germany

17:00 Steering Committee Meeting with SWGDRUG, UNODC, EMCDDA

18:00 End of Day 3

Optional Mystery Tour leaving Jury‘s Hotel at 19:00

th Time Friday, May 8 2015

9:00 – 12:00 Business Meeting (Agenda to be issued separately) Chair: Udo Zerell, Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), Wiesbaden, Germany

8 13:00 – 16:00 Steering Committee Meeting Chair: Udo Zerell, Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), Wiesbaden, Germany

Conference Sponsors

Agilent Technologies Ireland Ltd Unit 3 Euro House Euro Business Park Little Island Cork Ireland Tel. 01 605 8324 Fax 1-890 924 026 Email [email protected]

DANI Instruments S.p.A. Viale Brianza, 87 – 20093 Cologno Monzese (MI) - Italy Switchboard +39 02 2539941 Fax +39 02 2532252 [email protected]

LGC, Queens Road, Teddington, Middlesex, TW11 0LY, UK Tel: +44 (0)7879556983 Email: [email protected]

Lipomed AG Fabrikmattenweg 4 4144 Arlesheim Switzerland Tel.: +41 61 702 02 00 Fax: +41 61 702 02 20 [email protected]

Fisher Scientific Ireland Ltd Suite 3, Plaza 212, Blanchardstown Corporate Park 2 Ballycoolin, Dublin 15 [email protected]

ENFSI DWG Programme Sub-Committee Members

Chair: Petek Maja Jelena, [email protected]

Member: John Power, [email protected]

9 ENFSI Drugs Sub-Committee Reports

PROFILING SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT

Fabrice Besaciera aInstitut National de Police Scientifique, Laboratoire de Lyon, 31 avenue Franklin Roosevelt 69134 Ecully cedex, France e-mail: [email protected]

In 2014, the subcommittee had two main objectives:

- Organisation of a profiling PT. Four heroin samples were distributed to the DWG members for comparison. The results will be presented and discussed.

- Organisation of a New Scientists Seminar on Drug Profiling. This was made possible thanks to a financial support from ISEC funded project RESPONSE. The seminar will be held in June in Ljubljana (Slovenia). The seminar program will be introduced to the DWG.

RESULTS OF ENFSI DWG PROFICIENCY TEST – 2014

Júlia Nagy, Tamás Csesztregi Hungarian Institute for Forensic Sciences [email protected]

The results of ENFSI DWG Proficiency Test 2014 for PT samples (1-4) will be presented with regards to sample preparation process and homogeneity, concentrations reported for the samples and their Z-scores and En numbers. Effects of different factors on the quantitative results will be discussed. Quality and availability of reference materials for standards, especially for THC and new psychoactive substances, will also be highlighted.

E&T SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT

Irene Breum Müller Section of Forensic Chemistry, Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100 Denmark, e-mail: [email protected]

In 2014 and 2015, the subcommittee had a few objectives:

- Updating the links in the E&T manual - Providing an overview of workshops and training sessions available for the DWG members - Giving an update of the ENFSI Monopoly Programme.

PROPOSAL FOR CHEMOMETRICS SUBCOMMITTEE

Forensic literature shows a clear trend of increasing applications in forensic analysis supported by chemometrics and multivariate analysis (MVA) in different forensic fields. The knowledge and competence to create analytical methods by using MVA is currently on a moderate level in several forensic laboratories. A higher than professional competence is found in forensic laboratories related to Universities or with skilled staff in statistics. A known and successful application of MVA is drug profiling, dealing with comparison and classification of drug seizures with its impurities (i.e. chemometrics with distinct parameters). Applications with continuous datasets like spectroscopic data are also known, and used in the quantification of Drugs by PCA-analysis of NIR-spectra. A new subcommittee could develop a general strategy and training tool to bring chemometrics to a reasonable laboratory level.

Notes ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… 11 Presentation Abstracts

O1. An Irish Experience of framing Drugs Laws Marita Kinsella Former Head, Irish Drugs Legislative Unit, Department of Health

12 O2. National collaboration regarding NPS

Anna Stenfeldt Hennings, Åsa Klasén Swedish National Forensic Centre - NFC

In Sweden there are several regulations concerning drugs. Drugs are controlled by national legislation that, besides governmental policies, originates from the United Nations Conventions on drugs and psychoactive substances as well as regulations within the European Union. The Swedish definition of substances of abuse encompasses narcotics, substances hazardous to health and doping. There is separate legislation regarding pharmaceutical drugs and illicit alcohol.

The Government strategy focuses on restricting the supply of drugs, reducing recruitment of new abusers and supporting individuals to break their cycle of addiction.

The Public Health Agency of Sweden is responsible for the general control of all drugs (except pharmaceuticals) and collaborates with other national authorities in order to be as fully updated as possible on the prevalence and effects of NPS and thereby investigate new trends within the area. The collaboration regarding NPS is organized as a network called NADiS (national network on the current drug situation in Sweden). The authorities within the network are responsible for the contribution of relevant information from their activities on substances of abuse. The most important information concerns the presence of NPS, acute and long- term effects, as well as new trends. The basis for the classification of NPS is formed within this network and the documentation is submitted to the Government.

The Swedish National Forensic Centre, NFC, is part of the NADiS network. Our most important contribution is the elucidation of new drugs, their systematic naming and statistical data on the prevalence of NPS. NFC collaborates closely with the Swedish Customs and this makes us very successful in the discovery and reporting of new substances of abuse in the forensic Early Warning System.

Jowita Polak Central Forensic Laboratory of the Police, Poland, Warsaw jowita.polak@policja.gov.pl

New psychoactive substances, the so-called ―legal highs‖ have been appearing on illicit drug market in Poland for several years. Respectively, over the period of the last 6 years, there have been as many as four amendments to the Polish Drug Prevention Act. The first one took place in 2009 and resulted in extending the list of prohibited substances mainly with natural plant material and more than a dozen synthetic drugs. The next amendments accounted for introduction of 32 chemical compounds to the list. Illicit drug manufacturers however, quickly substitute prohibited substances with their analogs. The list of substances prohibited in Poland is likely to be enlarged with a further 114 compounds in the year 2015. Largely, these substances have not been yet analysed in full as regards their influence on human body as well as methods of identification.

14 O4. Food Hemp Product or a Way of Smuggling Cannabis?

Maria Afxentiou*, Theodora Papamichael, Alexis Alexandrou, Dr. Aphrodite Tillirou, Dr. Lefkia Panayiotidou, Dr. Popi Kanari Forensic Science and Toxicology Department, State General Laboratory-Cyprus *Head of the Forensic Science and Toxicology Department, [email protected]

Hemp and Marijuana both come from the same plant - Cannabis Sativa L. The term 'Hemp' commonly refers to the industrial/commercial use of the cannabis stalk and seed for textiles, foods, papers, body care products, detergents, plastics and building materials. The term 'marijuana' refers to the medicinal, recreational or spiritual use involving the smoking of cannabis flowers. The flowers of the plant and to a lesser extent the leaves, stems, and seeds, contain THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) which is the main psychoactive component of the Cannabis plant. According to EU regulation 1122/2009 the maximum permissible content for industrial hemp is 0.2% THC while marijuana THC content is much higher than 0.2%. The sale and consumption of hemp foods is permitted in many countries including Cyprus, but the THC limits are not the same for all EU countries. THC content in food is generally controlled via using low hemp cultivars, with some countries also setting their THC limits in foods. Recently our laboratory came across a case with the import of alcoholic drinks (vodka) named after cannabis containing a part of the plant approximately 15cm. Some of these parts also contained flowering tops. How does a laboratory handle this sample? As Food Hemp Product or a Way of Smuggling Cannabis? In order to find % THC content the alcoholic liquid was analyzed separately from the plant material. Results showed a great variance in % THC content of the plant material from bottle to bottle while their batch number was the same. The content of some plant material was below 0.2% THC and other plant material was greater. THC content of Alcoholic liquid was less than 0.005mg/L. Interpretation of results concerning the % THC content of the sample and legal issues are worth discussed. The Alcoholic drink has a very low % THC content which is acceptable as food hemp product. The great variance in % THC content of the plant material showed that some bottles contain industrial hemp (>0.2%) and some marijuana (<0.2%). The legal problem still exists…

15 O5. Survey on the detection and analysis of cutting agents in illicit drugs: the results

N. Gentile, J. Broséus, P. Esseiva

This contribution presents the results of the survey on cutting agents (adulterants and diluents) that was sent to the ENFSI laboratories. The goal of the survey was to gain knowledge on the analytical methodologies implemented in the laboratories and the exploitation of the information relative to cutting agents in seizures (collection, transmission and use). The treatment of data provided by about 40 laboratories reveals the major points and trends of cutting agents analysis in the ENFSI laboratories network. The main adulterants and diluents detected in illicit drugs (cocaine, heroin, ATS, etc.) are reported. These data are completed by additional responses from other institutions (for example, Drug Checking services) that participated to the survey. The results are discussed in a global framework, not restricted to forensic approach only. The potential of cutting agent information is highlighted, in combination with critical issues and challenges.

16 O6. Expansion into new spaces and the shift from drug discovery to recreational substance use: contextualizing the ‘NBOMe’ story

Dr. Simon Brandt Reader in Bioactive Drug Chemistry School of Pharmacy & Biomolecular Sciences Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) Coordinator of the UK early-warning system on new psychoactive substances (NPS) for the UK National Focal Point (with Amanda Atkinson, LJMU) Temporary Advisor to the Expert Committee on Drug Dependence of the World Health Organization Member of the Extended Scientific Committee of the EMCDDA Associate Editor "Drug Testing and Analysis" (Wiley)

The development of substances that facilitate serotonin (5-HT) receptor activation in the central nervous system forms an integral part in the understanding of mood, thought and cognition. The development of highly selective 5-HT2A receptor agonists and investigations into potential receptor binding orientations have long been of interest to medicinal chemists, clinicians and pharmacologists who are interested in the research of ‗classic‘ serotonergic hallucinogens and altered states of consciousness. Traditionally, most of the researched receptor probes remained in the pre-clinical space but it has become increasingly clear that some compounds are encountered as commercially available ‗research chemicals‘. A number of 5-HT2A receptor agonists evolved around N-(2- methoxybenzyl) substituted derivatives of well-established psychoactive, ring- substituted phenethylamines that have become known as ‗NBOMe‘ derivatives. What these particular substances share with other newly-emerging substances is that they have been discovered and developed as pharmacological tools (e.g. radioligands or PET tracers) in the attempt to understand the neuropharmacological principles involved in serotonergic drug action. Unfortunately, an increasing number of case reports indicate the potential to cause concerning adverse effects, which led to the introduction of control measures in many countries. This presentation aims to serve as an introduction to representative examples of discovery that have led to the development of these particular substances.

17 O7. Characterisation of NPS by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry technique (UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS).

Y. Boumraha,b,*, L. Humbertc, M. Phanithavongc, K. Khimeched, A. Dahmania, D. Allorgec,e aLaboratoire de thermodynamique et modélisation moléculaire, Faculté de chimie, USTHB, BP 32 El-Alia, Bab-Ezzouar, Alger, Algérie; bInstitut National de Criminalistique et de Criminologie (INCC/GN), Bouchaoui, Alger, Algérie; cLaboratoire de Toxicologie, Pôle de Biologie-Pathologie-Génétique du CHRU de Lille, France; dEcole Militaire Polytechnique, BP 17 Bordj-El-Bahri, Alger, Algérie; eEA4483, Université de Lille 2, 59045 Lille, France. * Corresponding author: Email: [email protected]

Some new psychoactive substances including: - synthetic cannabinoids such as AB-Chminaca, AB-Pinaca and AB-Fubinaca; - NBOMes (25C-NBOMe, 25B-NBOMe and 25I-NBOMe…); - tryptamines ( 5MeOMipt, 5MeOtryptamine…); - phenethylamines (Bk-2CB, Bk-MPA…); - cathinones (3MMC, DMMC, pentedrone, Brefedrone, Clefedrone, αPBP, αPVT …); - amphetamine-like (Chloamphetamine, Fluoroamphetamine…) - and some others such as 5MAPB, 5EAPB, 6APDB, 5I-AI, are characterised by an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography- quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry technique (UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS).

The exact masses of the different fragments of the obtained NPS-mass spectra are then stored in a screening database for identification purpose.

The results show that some fragments of each NPS group (family) mass spectra can be used as tracers for the screening methods based on most probable fragments.

18 O8. New Training Facility for Illicit Drugs Labs Dismantling Education

Natasa Radosavljevic-Stevanovic The National Criminal-Technical Center, Ministry of Interior, Republic of Serbia

During 2013 and 2014, The National Criminal-Technical Centre (NCTC) of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia has created the specialized training center for discovering and dismantling of illicit laboratories for drug production. The Centre is situated in the mountain of Goč in the western part of Serbia.

The Centre is the unique one. It consists of almost 26 different smaller and bigger rooms; each room is arranged in a way to represent the particular phase of drug production. The whole space is organized like the real laboratories, with all reaction vessels are connected to water and sewerage systems and heating devices. The walls of the premises can be easily dismantled and rearranged into new spaces unfamiliar to participants who had already attended the course. It must be emphasized that, according to the Prosecution Office permission, the Centre is built using the devices, equipment and vessels from the real laboratories that had been discovered and seized in Serbia. In addition, Europol and Dutch Police donated some of the original equipment and the French Embassy in Belgrade also encouraged creation of the Centre. The aim of creating such a Centre was to increase the capacities and safety of Serbian Police and to establish further collaboration with European law enforcement in relation to this issue.

Notes ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……..………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… 19 O9. A modern approach to human drug residue analysis

Dr. Julie Tierney The State Laboratory, Ireland

The Irish State Laboratory provides an analytical service to assist the Irish Coroners Service in establishing cause of death. The laboratory is responsible for the analysis of post mortem samples to confirm the presence or absence and to quantify both legal and illegal drugs. In addition, confirmatory analysis is carried out on drug facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) samples and other criminal cases. This presentation will discuss how LC-MS is used within the laboratory for the screening, confirmation and quantitation of a large range of legal and illegal drugs including common benzodiazepines, tranquillisers, tricyclic antidepressants, antidepressants, SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), hypnotics, antipsychotics, anxiolytics, sedatives, narcotic analgesics, analgesics, anticonvulsants, antiepileptics, antihistamines, anaesthetics, antiarrhythmics, antimalarials, antihypertensives and antiemetics in addition to a number of relevant metabolites in urine, blood and vitreous.

Notes ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……..………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………

20 O10. The Statistics of Drugs, Psychoactive Substances and Their Precursors: Detection from 2012 to 2014 in the Republic of Armenia

Hayk Kasparyan1, Karen Gharajyan 2 1 - Head of Drugs, Psychoactive Substances and Poisons Examinations Unit, 2 - Head of Physical Technical Examinations and Chemical Expertises Department National Bureau of Expertises 24, Admiral Isakov Ave., 0004 Yerevan, Republic of Armenia E-mail: [email protected] 1, [email protected] 2

Information will be presented in relation to drugs, psychoactive substances and their precursors, detected in the Republic of Armenia both on a quarterly and annual basis. We will present casework statistics regarding the increases and/or decreases recorded in the detection of individual substances, as well as the methods and approaches applied during their analyses. Furthermore, we will present the final draft of the methodology for the forensic research of widespread herbal smoke mixtures containing synthetic cannabinoids, presented during the 20th Annual Meeting of Drugs Working Group in May, 2014. We will also discuss a few interesting cases.

Notes ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……..………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………

21 O11. Identification and characterization of some novel by-products formed during the synthesis of amphetamine and mephedrone

J. D. Power, P.V. Kavanagh and S. Brandt Working in collaboration with the Forensic Science Ireland, Garda HQ, Dublin 8, Ireland

Analytical data related to mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone) and amphetamine are abundantly available but the provision, collation and characterization of by-products obtained during organic synthesis and which may be present in seizures is less widely available to forensic investigators.

The identification of 1,2,3,5-tetramethyl-4-(4-methylphenyl)-1H-imidazol-3-ium salt, formed during the synthesis of mephedrone is explored. When this compound was subjected to analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), isomerization and degradation into two distinct compounds were observed, which pointed toward its thermal instability under GC conditions. The by-products formed from a recently reported ‗environmentally friendly‘ synthetic route to phenyl-2-propanone (P2P, BMK) will also be explored. By-products from clandestine synthesis will most likely be found amongst the waste products of any clandestine lab site under investigation rather than with the desired product. The mutual value of partnering with research institutes for forensic laboratories is explored in brief.

22 O12. EU co-funded project “RESPONSE” - presentation of some activities

Sonja Klemenc Ministry of the Interior – Police, National forensic laboratory, Vodovodna 95, 1000 Ljublijana, Slovenia Mail to:[email protected]

EU co-funded ―RESPONSE‖ project, which aims to support some of the ENFSI DWG needs and activities, will be presented. The project is mainly a response to forensic drug laboratories joined under ENFSI-DWG umbrella, as well as a response to requests from law enforcement, EU agencies, other forensic networks and international organizations that seek information with some ―added value". The RESPONSE project addresses two specific topics of forensic drugs investigations: a) New psychoactive substance identification where lack of availability of certified reference materials (CRM) and specific reliable MS and FTIP spectra databases are the main problem for accurate NPS identification. For NPS identification, objectives are to provide essential, reliable data (NPS spectra) and tools (databases) to ENFSI-DWG laboratories and wider, to enhance their identification capabilities and reliability of identification, and to make NPS investigations more cost and time efficient. b) Drugs profiling which aims to fill the recognized gap between customers (law enforcement, judicial system, EU policy makers) needs and forensic laboratories capacities, methodologies and staff competencies. ―RESPONSE‖ will contribute to the development of general drug profiling competences and understanding of the profiling concepts in forensic laboratories through workshop-assisted learning.

The consortium participating in the project comprises 8 partners (7 of them are DWG members), from six European countries: Ministry of the Interior - National Forensic laboratory (SI); University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical technology (SI); National Forensic Institute, Laboratory of Lyon (FR); National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology (BE), Ministry of the Interior- Forensic Science Centre ―Ivan Vučetić‖(HR); Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences - University of Copenhagen, Department of Forensic Medicine (DK); Aarhus University, Department of Forensic Medicine (DK), Hungarian Institute for Forensic Sciences (HU). The Slovenian National Forensic Laboratory (NFL) is coordinating the project. Associated project partners are: EMCDDA (PT) as strategic adviser, National Institute of Public Health (SI), University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Medicine (SI), DrogArt (NGO SI), Forensic Science Ireland, Dublin (IE), Forensic Science and Toxicology Laboratory, State General Laboratory (CY); Judiciary Police - Laboratorio Policia Cientifica (PT), Kripos - National Criminal Investigation Service (NO).

This abstract has been produced with the financial support of the Prevention of and Fight against Crime Programme of the European Union (grant agreement number JUST/2013/ISEC/DRUGS/AG/6413). The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Commission.

Mario Mifsud 1, Sue Jickells2, Janet Mifsud3, Kim Wolff4 1Forensic Laboratory Services, Malta; 2Faculty of Science, University of East Anglia, Norwich, 3Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Malta, 4Institute of Psychiatry, National Addiction Centre, King’s College London.

Background. ‗Ecstasy‘ tablets normally provide visual and physical characteristics that are usually produced during the tabletting process. The presence of these features often provides valuable information potentially linking tablets from different seizures. This research investigated distinguishing features (visual and measurable features) of batches of 'ecstasy' tablets that were seized in Malta by police authorities over a five-year period, from 2006-11. The study also determined whether physical features could be used to link or discriminate between post-tabletting batches for drug intelligence purposes. In addition, tablet features were compared to pharmaceutical standards to determine how ―well-made‖ the 'ecstasy' tablets seized in Malta were.

Methods. A total of 45 batches of 'ecstasy' tablets were examined for their visual characteristics including the logo, tablet shape, break-line (if any) and colour. The hypergeometric sampling method was used to sample 'ecstasy' tablets from batches with similar visual features to measure the mass, diameter, thickness, hardness, friability and disintegration rates using established European / British Pharmacopeial methods. The quality of the 'ecstasy' tablets in the batches was evaluated using pharmacopoeial and pharmaceutical criteria.

Results. The majority of batches contained round coloured tablets (53%, n = 24) with most having no break-line. Most of the batches had a mean mass ranging between 150 - 300 mg (82.2%, n = 37), a mean diameter ranging between 6.5 - 9.5 mm (91.1%, n = 41) and a mean thickness ranging between 3 - 5 mm (88.9%, n = 40). There was high variability in the hardness and disintegration rates among the tablets in each batch (relative standard deviation (RSD) ≥ 7% and RSD ≥ 20% respectively), while most of the batches had friability which was < 1.0% (88.9%, n = 40). Although the majority of batches (68.9%, n = 31) had different visual and measurable features, 14 other batches were linked using visual and measurable features which included logo, shape, break-line, colour, mass, diameter, thickness, hardness, friability and disintegration rates. Furthermore, the linkage between the batches was confirmed using one-way ANOVA to establish no difference (p > 0.05) between the separate measurable features.

Conclusion This study focused on the use of both visual and measurable features to link or discriminate between batches of tablets for drug intelligence purposes and also to try and determine the quality of the tablets. It was demonstrated that using the visual features, which included logo, shape, break- line (if any) and colour, it was possible to relate or separate batches of tablets. Furthermore, the measurable features used, which included the mass, diameter, thickness, hardness, friability and disintegration rates were found to be more adequate features to link or discriminate between batches of tablets from the same or different post-tabletting seizures. A good compliance was obtained for the pharmacopoeial and pharmaceutical criteria for the individual measurable physical features for the examined batches of 'ecstasy' tablets. The results for the quality of tablets indicated that the illicit tabletting chemists have developed a fairly good expertise in tablet manufacture. Notes ……………………………………………………………………………….. 24 O14. 2015 Update from the Scientific Working Group for the Analysis of Seized Drugs (SWGDRUG)

Scott R. Oulton SWGDRUG Chair Drug Enforcement Administration Office of Forensic Sciences Arlington, VA 22202 [email protected]

The Scientific Working Group for the Analysis of Seized Drugs (SWGDRUG) was formed in 1997 as a joint effort between the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Office of Forensic Sciences and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). The mission of SWGDRUG is to recommend minimum standards for the forensic examination of seized drugs and to seek their international acceptance. This presentation will provide attendees with an update on SWGDRUG activities during the year 2014.

SWGDRUG Recommendations are available to the general public via the group‘s website (www.swgdrug.org). They include a code of professional practice for drug analysts as well as recommendations in the areas of education and training, methods of analysis, and quality assurance. Recently, the SWGDRUG core committee revised its recommendations pertaining to the use of reference materials to address laboratory needs during the verification of new reference materials and analysis of new designer drugs.

SWGDRUG continues to provide the forensic community with its mass spectrometry (MS) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy libraries, both of which continue to be regularly updated. Version 2.2 of the MS library was made available October 5, 2015, and currently contains more than 2200 spectra obtained under electron ionization (EI) conditions. Included in the library are many of the recently encountered synthetic cannabinoids, substituted cathinones, and hallucinogenic phenethylamines. Version 1.1 of the IR library was made available May 30, 2014. This library contains more than 150 compounds obtained under attenuated total reflectance (ATR) conditions. Both of these libraries are available in various instrument formats and can be downloaded from the SWGDRUG website and into laboratory instruments. The libraries will continue to be updated on a regular basis and contributions from the forensic community are strongly encouraged.

In an effort to continue providing the seized-drug community with a variety of tools, SWGDRUG also continues to publish drug monographs containing detailed information and analytical data for reference materials. During the last 2 years, more than 250 monographs have been added, containing data from reference materials which have been analyzed, verified, and authenticated by the Drug Enforcement Administration Special Testing and Research Laboratory. These monographs, available via the SWGDRUG website, are intended to be used for the verification of acquired reference materials.

This presentation will also discuss future group directions resulting from the establishment of NIST‘s Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) and current SWGDRUG projects, including the development of a Supplemental Document to assist laboratories in the estimation of the uncertainty associated with net weights obtained via extrapolation exercises.

Notes ……………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………

25 O15. New Psychoactive Substances in Europe – Diversity and Challenges

Rachel Christie, Ana Gallegos Action on new drugs sector — Supply reduction and new drugs unit European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), Lisbon, Portugal

Since 1997, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) has played a central role in Europe‘s response to new psychoactive substances (NPS). Its main responsibilities in this field are to operate the EU Early Warning System (EWS), with its partner Europol and to undertake risk assessments of new substances when necessary. The EU EWS works by collecting information on the appearance of new substances from the 28 EU Member States, Turkey and Norway, and then monitoring them for signals of harm, allowing the EU to respond rapidly to emerging threats. Over the past five years there has been an unprecedented increase in the number, type and availability of NPS in Europe. In 2014 alone, a total of 101 new substances were reported for the first time to the EU EWS: 31 cathinones, 30 cannabinoids, 9 phenethylamines, 5 opioids, 5 tryptamines, 4 benzodiazepines, 4 arylalkylamines and 13 substances that do not conform to the aforementioned groups. This brings the total number of substances being monitored by the EMCDDA to more than 450, with over half of these being reported in the last three years alone. Seizure data from law enforcement also confirms the growth and importance of this drug market. Between 2008 and 2013 there was a seven-fold increase in the number of seizures reported across Europe. In 2013, almost 47 000 seizures weighing more than 3.1 tons of NPS were reported to the EU EWS. Synthetic cannabinoids accounted for the majority of these figures, with over 21 000 seizures weighing almost 1.6 tons. Synthetic cathinones were the second largest group, with almost 11 000 seizures weighing more than 1.1 tons. Together, they accounted for almost 70 % of the total number of seizures and over 85 % of the weight seized during 2013. The growth in the market is also responsible for the increase in serious harms reported to the EMCDDA in recent years. Most of these concern non-fatal intoxications and deaths, but also include broader social harms, such as those caused by high-risk drug users switching from injecting heroin to synthetic cathinones. During 2014 serious harms requiring urgent attention led to 16 public health alerts being issued by the EMCDDA, while 6 new substances – 25I-NBOMe, AH-7921, methoxetamine, MDPV, 4,4'-DMAR and MT-45 –required risk assessment by the EMCDDA's Scientific Committee. The continued speed of growth in the NPS market continues to pose a range of challenges for forensic scientists and toxicologists across Europe. Identification challenges are in the form of access to NPS reference standards, resources both human and analytical and identification techniques. It is clear that the importance of forensic science networks and the sharing of data and information amongst those networks are becoming even more crucial in overcoming many of these challenges.

26 O16. Developments in the International Drug Control and UNODC Response

Iphigenia Naidis Laboratory and Scientific Section, Research and Trend Analysis Branch, Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, A-1400 Vienna, Austria e-mail: [email protected]

The Commission of Narcotic Drugs, at its 58th session in March 2015, decided to include a total of ten (10) new substances in the respective Schedules of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 and the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971. During the discussions, Member States expressed concern about the rise in substances of abuse that are not controlled by the international drug control conventions but pose a threat to public health such the new psychoactive substances (NPS), and present challenges to the drug control mechanisms at the national, regional and international levels. The importance of data availability was underlined and the need for prioritization of NPS based on prevalence and harm and for providing relevant information with the view to facilitating the assessment process by the Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) of the World Health Organization.

The Early Warning Advisory set up by UNODC for the identification and monitoring of NPS as part of its Global SMART Programme, continue to support further enhancement of international cooperation in the sharing of information on NPS through existing mechanisms among Member States, as well as with other international and regional organizations, including INCB, and EMCCDA, and specifically with WHO, upon request, in order to facilitate its review of substances, the prioritization process for evaluation and risk assessment. The UNODC-WHO expert consultation in December 2014 discussed and identified practical steps to address these challenges. The UNODC International Collaborative Exercises (ICE) network of drug analysis laboratories contributes also to an improved understanding of the NPS problem based on scientific evidence and experiences shared.

UNODC´s support to international cooperation in the forensic science field includes collaboration with the International Forensic Strategic Alliance (IFSA). IFSA has developed Minimum Requirement Documents (MRD) for emerging forensic providers in developing countries and launched the MRDs of Crime Scene Investigation, Drugs and DNA in October 2014.

27 O17. Slovenia at the cutting edge of new cumyl-derivatives and some other types of synthetic cannabinoids - by chance or by choice?

Sonja Klemenc Ministry of the Interior – Police, National forensic laboratory, Vodovodna 95, 1000 Ljublijana, Slovenia Mail to:[email protected]

Several seizures of pure psychoactive substances (at multi-kilogram level) from the group of synthetic cannabinoids as well as "herbal incenses" (around 1500 kg) and C-liquids (around 10000 x 3 ml bottles) have been confiscated in Slovenia. This presentation will cover several aspects of these findings: legislation, international trafficking and chemical characterizations.

Notes ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……..………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………

28 O18. Captagon tablets - a story between the logo parentheses

Ehud (Udi) Wolf, PhD Analytical lab, DIFS, Israel Police, Jerusalem, ISRAEL [email protected]

It's a story about drugs in pharmaceutics disguise, terror in clean rooms and a world size phenomenon that is almost unknown. It's a combination of special religious rules, huge factories, big money and a grey cloud that covers the sources of the active substances. This story is taking place in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf. Israel, as a close neighbor, can observe and seize only a few but important samples that can give some information about the forensic chemistry of Captagon production and products. For more than 30 years, there is only one consistent Captagon logo, the a- symmetric parentheses symbol. Between the parentheses, we'll find amphetamine, Fenethylline, Diphenhydramine, caffeine and some other surprises.

Notes ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……..………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………

29 O19. Chemical identification and spectroscopic characterisation of New Psychoactive Substances

Claude Guillou European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, Chemical Assessment & Testing Unit, [email protected]

The emergence of designer drugs as abused substances has seen a dramatic increase over the past few years. Customs and Forensic laboratories are faced with a challenge for rapidly identifying these new psychoactive substances (NPS) which are now appearing at a rate of almost two new substances per week in 2014 i .

Customs as the first rampart of the European Union are responsible of the Controls of products entering the Community market. This applies to chemicals in general among which NPS (which are not necessarily controlled under international laws), pharmaceutical products and medicines. Efficient tools for rapid and unambiguous identification of new designer drugs are needed for fast decision regarding imported substances. The identification of new derivatives and of new chemical structures is time-demanding and requires highly sophisticated analytical instrumentation. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) CLEN2SAND project is providing scientific and technical support to DG TAXUD and the Customs Laboratories European Network (CLEN). The state of the art High Resolution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Mass Spectroscopy (MS) laboratory of the JRC is used for chemical characterisation of these NPS. A repository of spectroscopic data of NPS and of new unknown substances under investigation by Customs authorities will be established. FT-IR and RAMAN spectra will also be recorded for ―routine controls‖ and fast identification of NPS in customs and forensic laboratories and also by portable devices used at the borders. The spectra of these substances will be stored as electronic data on the European Customs Inventory of Chemical Substances (ECICS) of DG TAXUD. The sharing of electronic analytical data with other databases, for instance the European Database on New Drugs (EDND) of EMCDDA, is also envisaged to facilitate the rapid detection of these NPS by other organisations involved in the analysis of new drugs.

European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (2015), New psychoactive substances in Europe. An update from the EU Early Warning System (March 2015), Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg. Available online: www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/2015/new- psychoactive-substances

30 Poster Abstracts

P1. TLC of benzodiazepines using non-harmful solvents

Ørjan Bye National Criminal Investigation Service (Kripos), Norway. [email protected]

TLC has been used in the lab at Kripos for as long as the lab has existed. It‘s use today is no longer as a main tool for unknown drug identification (TLC of cannabis being the only exception), but as a cost-effective way of increasing the number of analysed samples from a batch of tablets already identified by GCMS.

Recently in our lab there has been more focus on replacing potentially harmful chemicals, in particular chloroform, with less harmful alternatives. An effort was done to examine the possibilities regarding TLC of the most common drugs in tablets: benzodiazepines.

P2. Statistical interpretation of banknotes from seizures: from general circulation or drug trafficking?

Philippe Hérard1, Olivier Roussel1*, Daniel Chopineaux1, Lauriane Tensorer1, Xavier Bouvot1, Michelle G. Carlin2. 1 Forensic Toxicology Unit, Forensic Sciences Laboratory of the French Gendarmerie, Pontoise, France 2 Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Ellison Place, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdo * e-mail: [email protected]

Introduction Drug trafficking involves the transportation of drugs but also large sums of money. The seizure of this money can provide intelligence to aid an investigation as the banknotes can be analysed for the presence of drugs. The results of these analyses maybe used to establish if the banknotes are linked to drug trafficking or are from general circulation. Our laboratory established a method for the detection of cocaine, heroin and Δ9-THC on banknotes to assess the rate of contamination by these drugs. Interpretation of our data was based in reference to published studies by other researchers in the field.

Method For this study, banknotes in general circulation were collected from several large cities in France as well as from judicial seizures. Extraction of the banknotes was carried out using methanol and the extract was separated and deuterated internal standards were added. The extract was dried down under air, derivatised and analysed using GC-MS. For each analyte of interest, an external calibration was carried out. An internally defined cut-off was used to establish a drug positive or negative on the banknotes. Results Our initial study has shown that less than 30% of the banknotes in general circulation were positive for at least one of the drugs but more than 80% of the banknotes involved in drug trafficking were positive. The order of prevalence of drugs on the banknotes is cocaine, THC then heroin.

31 Conclusion Using our analytical threshold and statistical interpretation, a strong link between drug contamination and banknote origin has been demonstrated. If enough seized banknotes are submitted, it is possible to hypothesise if the origin of the banknotes is from general circulation or from drug trafficking.

P3. Wet amphetamine is full of harmful, organic solvents

Lotte Ask Reitzel, Mette Nærø, Irene Breum Müller Section of Forensic Chemistry, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederik V‘s vej 11, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark

Abstract Amphetamine is among the most common illegal drugs. The powder is often wet. Apparently, there are a number of misconceptions by user communities related to wet amphetamine. According to user chat forums there is a widespread perception that the wet powder is ―good powder‖. This could be one reason that wet amphetamine is stored in freezers in order to keep it wet, and that amphetamine is sold as wet powder or "paste". However, the liquid part of the wet amphetamine might constitute a health problem in itself, not only for the users, but also the persons handling the seizures, such as the workers at police and forensic departments. The routine procedure in many forensic laboratories, including the Forensic Section in Copenhagen, is to dry the amphetamine samples before analysis and thus, knowledge about the liquid content is not obtained. However, for a series of wet amphetamine seizures, we have analyzed the wet powders by headspace-GC-MS in order to investigate the volatile components (which primarily includes liquid components except water). The results showed that methanol was the main liquid component in all samples. Not surprisingly, the samples also contained some BMK. Some samples contained toluene, and for some of the cut amphetamine samples we also identified ethanol. The liquid part of the powders can constitute up to > 60 % of the weight, typically between 10 and 30 %. Due to the harmful effects and volatile character of organic solvents like methanol and toluene, we recommend that departments working with large quantities of wet amphetamine make a safety review of the workplace.

P4. Quantification of Synthetic Cannabinoids in Spice using NMR

Jenny Rosengren Holmberg, Simon Dunne Drug Unit, Swedish National Forensics Centre, Linköping, Sweden

Herbal smoking blends have become quite popular since they were first marketed on the Internet under the brand name ―Spice‖ in 2004. Traditionally these ―Herbal highs‖ consisted of dried herbs that had been sprayed with one or more synthetic cannabinoids and were sold in small foil bags as legal substitutes for marijuana. Seizures made by the police at that time consisted predominantly of these prepackaged bags. Today seizures are most often in the form of pure synthetic cannabinoid powders, together with unprepared plant materials such as tobacco, tea, or herbal potpourri. A question that is often raised by the Swedish police is how much smoking blend can be prepared from a certain amount of synthetic cannabinoid and plant material, so that the severity of the crime can be established. In order to gain more knowledge about Spice preparations we have developed an extraction procedure compatible with NMR quantification of 32 synthetic cannabinoids in Spice. Extraction media, time and efficiency were tested for different carrier materials and synthetic cannabinoids. The optimized method was tested using in-house prepared spice mixtures of known synthetic cannabinoid content and used to quantify a range of synthetic cannabinoids in different spice preparations. Issues concerning spice preparation methods and inhomogeneity will also be addressed.

P5. Application of stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry for the comparison of new psychoactive substances

Dr. Róbert Rémiás Hungarian Institute for Forensic Sciences [email protected]

Case-to-case comparison and chemical profiling of the seizures of classical drugs is mainly based on the comparison of the patterns of impurities related to the active substance. Sources of the impurities, typical impurities of commonly used production procedures, extraction procedures of impurities for chemical analysis, stability and discrimination power of various impurities are extensively investigated and documented in the scientific publications. Nowadays, the illicit market of drugs has significantly been changed in Central and Eastern Europe. Countless new synthetic drugs (especially cathinones and synthetic cannabinoids) have been appearing since 2010. The spread of new psychoactive substances (NPS) is extremely accelerated and unfortunately in many cases almost untraceable. Because of their unknown synthesis routes and the low level of impurities, the identification of synthetic routes and the case-to- case comparison of different seizures based on typical impurities have become complicated. The determination of 13C/12C isotope ratio by isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) of new psychoactive substances in seized materials is an expedient method for the comparison. The comparison of 13C/12C isotope ratios of the substances in different seizures does not require the detailed characterization of synthetic routes and impurities. Application of IRMS coupled with gas chromatography (GC-IRMS) gives the possibility of the measurement of substances in mixtures and the comparison of isotope ratios of several adulterants and cutting agents as well. The application of GC-IRMS for the comparison of various NPS seizures and its results will be presented.

P6. A systematical methodology for finding novel NPS (New Psychoactive Substances) on the Internet

Nathalie Kahrle Atterlord1, Petur Weihe Dalsgaard1, Niels Bjerre Holm1, Irene Breum, M Holmg1, Kristian Linnet1, Lotte Ask Reitzel1 Section of Forensic Chemistry, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederik V‘s vej 11, DK-2100, Denmark

The market for new psychoactive substances (NPS) has evolved dramatically due to the ease of advertising and selling over the Internet, and thus today one new substance is marketed every 5-6 days. To encounter NPS forensic chemistry and toxicology sections are often depending on seizures from police or customs, and on the availability of reference standards, meaning they are always several steps behind. 33 We here present a systematical strategy for investigating and searching for NPS over the Internet, not only NPS existing on the open market but even NPS discussed outside those platforms. Two approaches were established during the development of the methodology. The first approach was to use a simple word search whereas the second approach was focusing on social networks related to recreational drugs. Ultimately these two approaches would present potential novel NPS which would be compared to in-house libraries to avoid duplication; first based on chemical formula and secondly on structure to evaluate possible isomers. Even without the reference standard, information can be withdrawn from the substance and its structure that can aid in an identification process, e.g. absolute mass, sum formula, and fragmentation pattern within a certain drug family.

The methodology is considered a continuous process that gives the opportunity to have knowledge regarding the most novel NPS available on the market. The end goal is to enhance the NPS identification capability and efficiency of our forensic laboratory through a semi-targeted approach in blood screening.

The method has been implemented and used since the middle of 2014 at the Section of Forensic Chemistry at the University of Copenhagen. During the months up to this point, over 60 NPS have been found through the use of the methodology presented.

The methodology is going to be used in the newly started ISEC project ―RESPONSE‖, in which one of the goals is to enhance the NPS identification capability and efficiency of forensic laboratories.

This abstract has been produced with the financial suppose of the Prevention of and Fight Against Crime Programme of the European Union (grant agreement number JUST/2013/ISEC/DRUGS/AG/6413). The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors1 and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Commission.

P7. New Psychoactive Substances Prevalence in Samples Tested in the NDTC laboratory 2010-2015

S. McNamara, S. Stokes, A. Shine HSE National Drug Treatment Centre

Introduction: Ireland has the highest use of new synthetic drugs in Europe, with consumption levels three times the EU average, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in 2013 report1, which that said new psychoactive substances were "proliferating at an unprecedented rate" across the world and posed "unforeseen public health" effects. The Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 20142 stated that in Europe, the availability and abuse of new psychoactive substances remains a major public health challenge, with a record number of such substances being newly identified.

34 The INCB 2014 Global Synthetic Drugs Assessment3 notes that the Eurobarometer survey conducted among 12,000 randomly selected youths aged 15-24 across the EU in 2011 recorded the lifetime prevalence of youths that had experimented with ―legal substances that imitate the effects of illicit drugs‖. The highest lifetime prevalence rates were reported by Ireland at 16.3%. According to 2014 EMCDDA update4, the data suggests that the growth of the market in new psychoactive substances will continue to pose a range of challenges for public health and drug policy over the next few years. Particular challenges relate to the speed at which new psychoactive substances appear, their open sale and the lack of information on their effects and harms.

Objective: The objective of the study is to examine and report on trends in use of New Psychoactive Substances over the period 2010-2015 in samples tested in the NDTC laboratory

Method: Due to clinical demand for testing, since 2008 we have constantly redeveloped our LCMS capability to include several multi-residue testing methods in order to meet the challenge of testing for New Psychoactive Substances. We have reported on this in a number of publications 5,6,7. This has involved on-going method development over this time as more drugs were added to the screen. Most recently, to identify all of the different compounds , many with common MRM‘s, we separated the screened compounds into 7 different groups. We then optimized the LC/MS conditions to unambiguously identify over 80 compounds in one run. Samples were analysed for Head Shop compounds by LC/MS (Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry). Liquid chromatography was carried out on an Agilent 1100 series LC. Mass spectrometry detection was carried out using an ABSciex 3200 Qtrap MS. Compounds were optimised on the mass spectrometer by using the automated compound optimization wizard in Analyst.

Results: The profile of drugs has changed greatly over the years as various legislative measures were introduced and this is reflected in the drugs detected by us in patient samples. We report on the new psychoactive substances detected in patient samples each year from 2010-2015.

1. http://www.unodc.org/unodc/secured/wdr/wdr2013/World_Drug_Report_2013.pdf

2. http://www.unodc.org/documents/scientific/2014_Global_Synthetic_Drugs_Assessment_web .pdf

3. http://www.incb.org/incb/en/publications/annual-reports/annual-report-2014.html

4. http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_235958_EN_TD0415135ENN.pdf

5. McNamara, S. 1-Benzylpiperazine Abuse amongst Attendees of the Drug Treatment Centre Board. Irish Medical Journal 2009, June:102(6):191

6. McNamara S, Stokes S, Coleman N. Head Shop Compound abuse amongst attendees of The Drug Treatment Centre Board. Irish Medical Journal. 2010 May;103 (5):134,136-7.

7. O‘Byrne P, Kavanagh P, McNamara, S and Stokes, S. Screening of Stimulants Including Designer Drugs in Urine Using a Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry System. Journal of Analytical Toxicology 2013;37:64–73

35 Workshop Abstracts

Workshop 1: Experiences with generic law Fraser Johnston

Workshop 2: Do we need new technologies for forensic drug analysis? John Power Forensic Science Ireland, Dublin, Ireland

Abstract If you were asked to design and manage a typical Drugs identification laboratory that meets your present needs and also offers some degree of future proofing, what would that laboratory look like? This workshop is intended to be fun but with a serious purpose. It will allow you to let your imagination run wild (i.e. no budget constraints) but will constrain you to be realistic (any instrumentation proposed should, at least in theory, be capable of performing the desired tasks). So what are the key requirements and function of a typical drugs lab and how will those functions be met? Do staff qualification levels matter in your proposed model or is the desire of staff to get the ―right‖ answer more important. Will more single-use testing devices replace specialized analysts? Will the changes currently taking place in roadside driving offences influence changes in attitude of law enforcement to the need for independent Forensic Drug Laboratories. What are the essential pieces of analytical equipment in your proposed model? (Will GC-MS techniques remain as the accepted workhorse uniquely identifying unknowns or what technique might replace it?) Imagine what improvements may come from improved data exchange and improved search capabilities of large data sets, how might the ability to safely exchange large amounts of data help improve existing analytical instruments. The challenge for this workshop is to identify the vision of a future lab and its functions.

Workshop 3: Is Accreditation limiting the Analytical Strategy?

Ulla-Maija Laakkonen National Bureau of Investigation, Forensic Laboratory, Jokiniemenkuja 4, FI- 01301 Vantaa, Finland [email protected]

The laboratory accreditation process ensures that the laboratory has a quality system in place that is sufficient, standardized, functioning, and monitored on an ongoing and routine basis for compliance and continuous improvements. Despite the great value of accreditation we may encounter problems in practice. The accreditation fees are high, and a lot of time is used to maintain the quality system, especially the documentation. Are the requirements for documentation reasonable and consistent from one accreditation body to another? Could accreditation impair the speed and flexibility of the laboratory processes? Could accreditation limit the academic freedom of the expert and prevent from using the most efficient strategy and techniques to solve the problem at hand?

36 There are mainly separate analytical methods in the scope of accreditation - does the scope include all the processes needed for the evaluating of the results? Are we utilizing the flexible scope effectively? Are there very different requirements for flexible scope accreditation (but also for fixed scope accreditation) from one accreditation body to another? The participants of the workshop are encouraged to share their experiences and ways to solve the problems. The aim of the workshop is to collect ideas about minimizing the shortcomings and making the most of accreditation.

Workshop 4: Sampling of Illicit Drugs for Quantitative Analysis

Initial presentation Björn Ahrens Federal Criminal Police Office, Forensic Science Institute, 65173 Wiesbaden, Germany [email protected]

- Training of Sampling guidelines for Quantitative Analysis - Experiences with the Guidelines on Sampling of Illicit Drugs for Quantitative Analysis

Workshop

Tamas Csesztregi1, Laurence Dujourdy2, Michael Bovens3 Hungarian Institute for Forensic Sciences1, Institut National de Police Scientifique2, Forensic Science Institute Zurich3

The new Guidelines on Sampling of Illicit Drugs for Quantitative Analysis were applied to two drug cases. The first case deals with 300 kg heroin, which was seized by the German police. The heroin was hidden in 672 preserving jars, which were labeled as pickled garlic. 12 jars were packed together in a cardboard box. 56 cardboard boxes were among approximately 22 correctly labeled preserving jars. In the second case three bags with a total amount of 30 packages containing cannabis buds were seized. The weight of each package was approximately 2 kg. For both cases the sampling procedure was designed according to the new Guidelines on Sampling of Illicit Drugs for Quantitative Analysis of ENFSI-DWG. Two representative composite samples were collected in each of the two cases for quantitative analysis. For each case the results of the two representative composite samples were evaluated with regard to the question if the heterogeneity of the material is typical for the drug seizure in question (Was the sampling carried out on a repeatable way)? Additionally, the quantitative results of the composite samples were compared to the results obtained from single samples of individual items of both seizures. The results of the quantitative analyses will be presented and discussed during the workshop.

37 Conference Participants

Title First Name Last Name Country Organization Email Address

Mrs Maria Afxentiou Cyprus State General Laboratory Cyprus [email protected]

Dr Björn Ahrens Germany Federal Criminal Police Office [email protected]

Mr Valthor Asgrimsson Iceland University Of Iceland [email protected]

Mrs Lotte Ask Reitzel Denmark Section Of Forensic Chemistry, Institute Of Forensic Medicine [email protected]

Dr Katja Benèina Slovenia National Forensic Laboratory [email protected]

Mr Ivo Beroun Czech Republic Institute Of Criminalistics Prague [email protected]

Mr Fabrice Besacier France Laboratoire De Police Scientifique De Lyon [email protected]

Mr Andrej Bolf Slovakia IFS Bratislava [email protected]

Mrs Federica Bonadio Pont Switzerland Institute Of Scientific Police, School Of Criminal Science [email protected]

Cdt Yacine Boumrah Algeria Algerian Embassy [email protected]

Dr Michael Bovens Switzerland Forensic Science Institute Zurich [email protected]

Mr Ørjan Bye Norway Kripos [email protected]

Dr Rachel Christie Portugal EMCDDA [email protected]

Mr Emrah Copkunsu Turkey Jandarma Krymynal Dayre Bapkanlidi [email protected]

Mr Tamás Csesztregi Hungary Hungarian Institute For Forensic Sciences [email protected]

Dr Laurence Dujourdy France Institut National De Police Scientifique [email protected]

Mrs Nadia El-Khadra-Kluth Germany Landeskriminalamt Berlin [email protected]

Mrs Tina Eriksen Denmark University Of Southern Denmark - Institute Of Forensic Medicines [email protected]

Mrs Anne Franc United Kingdom Forensic Equity Ltd [email protected]

Dr Ana Gallegos Portugal European Monitoring Centre For Drugs And Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) [email protected]

Dr Helena Margarida Gaspar Portugal Gaspar [email protected]

Dr Natacha Gentile Switzerland Ecole Des Sciences Criminelles [email protected]

38 Title First Name Last Name Country Organization Email Address

Mr Wolfgang Greibl Austria Forensic Science Austria, Federal Ministry Of Interior [email protected]

Mr Claude Guillou Italy European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) [email protected]

Mr Tomislav Houra Croatia FSC Zagreb, Response Just/2013/ISEC/Drugs/AG/6413 [email protected]

Mr Fraser Johnston United Kingdom Key Forensic Services [email protected]

Ms Maria Teresa Juanas San Martin Spain Instituto Nacional De Toxicology Ciencias [email protected]

Lt Mohamed Kacir Algeria Algerian Embassy [email protected]

Mr Hayk Kasparyan Armenia National Bureau Of Expertises (NBE-SNPO) [email protected]

Dr Yvonne Kavanagh Ireland The State Laboratory [email protected]

Mrs Åsa Klasén Sweden NFC - Swedish National Forensic Centre [email protected]

Dr Sonja Klemenc Slovenia MNZ, Police, National Forensic Laboratory [email protected]

Mrs Ludmila Komorousova Czech Republic Institute Of Criminalistics Prague [email protected]

Mrs Ulla-Maija Laakkonen Finland NBI Forensic Laboratory [email protected]

Mrs Zanna Malisa-Koptenkova Latvia State police of Latvia Forensic Service Department [email protected]

Mr Gavin McLaughlin Ireland Athlone Institute Of Technology - Trinity College Dublin [email protected]

Ms Sinead McNamara Ireland HSE National Drug Treatment Centre [email protected]

Dr Natalie Meert Belgium National Institute Of Criminalistics And Criminology (NICC) [email protected]

Dr Peter Mell Hungary Department Of Chemistry, Institute For Expert Services [email protected]

Dr Mario Mifsud Malta Forensic Science Laboratory [email protected]

Mrs Eva Mokastet Norway National Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS), Norway [email protected]

Dr Irene Breum Müller Denmark Section Of Forensic Chemistry, University Of Copenhagen [email protected]

Dr Iphigenia Naidis Austria Laboratory And Scientific Section, DPA, UNODC [email protected]

Mr Scott Oulton United States US Drug Enforcement Administration [email protected]

Ms Delfina Pastor Rodriguez Spain Scientific Spanish Police- Madrid [email protected]

Mr Erdal Peçenek Turkey Jandarma Kriminal Daire Baþkanlýðý (JKDB) [email protected]

39 Title First Name Last Name Country Organization Email Address

Mrs Jowita Polak Poland Central Forensic Laboratory Of The Police [email protected]

Mrs Raquel Poveda Spain Laboratory Police MM EE [email protected]

Mr John Power Ireland Forensic Science Ireland [email protected]

Dr Natasa Radosavljevic-Stevanovic Serbia The National Criminal-Technical Centre [email protected]

Dr Elaine Raggett Ireland Limerick Institute of Technology

Mr Peep Rausberg Estonia Estonian Forensic Science Institute [email protected]

Dr Robert Remias Hungary Hungarian Institute For Forensic Sciences [email protected]

Mr Joao Rodrigues Portugal Laboratório De Policia Científica / Policia Judiciária [email protected]

Mr Michael Roman Czech Republic Institute Of Criminalistics Prague [email protected]

Dr Jenny Rosengren Holmberg Sweden Swedish National Forensics Centre (NFC) [email protected]

Mr Olivier Roussel France IRCGN - Toxicology Department [email protected]

Mrs Annette Sprong Netherlands Netherlands Forensic Institute [email protected]

Ms Anna Stenfeldt Hennings Sweden Swedish National Forensics Centre (NFC) [email protected]

Dr Francesco Sudoso Italy Italian State Police- Forensic Police Service [email protected]

Dr Julie Tierney Ireland The State Laboratory [email protected]

Dr Paata Tushurashvili Georgia National Forensics Bureau Of Georgia [email protected]

Mr Filip Van Durme Belgium NICC Response Just /2013/ISEC/Drugs/AG/6413 [email protected]

Ms Lindsay Wallace United Kingdom Scottich Police Authority (Forensic Services) [email protected]

Dr Ehud (Udi) Wolf Israel Israel Police, DIFS, Analytical Lab [email protected]

Dr Udo Zerell Germany Bundeskriminalamt [email protected]