ABSTRACT
The use and prevalence of new synthetic drugs has increased substantially over the last decade and a half. The increasing potency and range of compounds presents an emerging challenge for clinicians and forensic practitioners. Many of these drugs referred to as “novel psychoactive substances” (NPS) have resulted in hospitalization as well as increasing numbers of deaths. These drugs vary significantly in pharmacologic efficacy and the need to detect and monitor the harm associated is essential as large numbers of NPS mimicking traditional drugs are manufactured, distributed, and consumed across the world. Sensitive, reliable and reproducible analytic toxicology techniques such as liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry is required to detect and identify these substances in a variety of different matrices. The interpretation of these NPS in medicolegal casework can be difficult as there is often a lack of pharmacologic information.
