Emerging synthetic cannabinoids detected by a drug checking service in Toronto, Canada
Abstract
Background: Toronto’s Drug Checking Service (DCS) provides people who use drugs with information on the chemical composition of their substances and conducts real-time monitoring of the unregulated drug supply. Presented are first known data of three newly detected synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) in Toronto, Ontario.
Methods: The present data are from samples analyzed between April and November 2020. Samples were collected at partnering harm reduction agencies in Toronto and analyzed using gas or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. An intake survey queried about the sample characteristics on submission, including expected drug(s).
Results: Samples were analyzed between 1 April and 20 November 2020 (N = 19), which marks the period immediately following imposed COVID-19 border and movement restrictions in Canada. The newly detected, unexpected SCs were ACHMINACA (n = 15), AB-FUBINACA (n = 3), and 4-fluoro-MDMB-BUTINACA (n = 1). Fentanyl was expected in 74% (n = 14). Most SCs were detected in samples containing fentanyl or related analogues (n = 18; 95%), or benzodiazepine-related drugs (i.e., etizolam and flualprazolam) (n = 15; 79%).
Conclusions: This information can inform overdose prevention efforts and drug market monitoring of SCs in Toronto and regions served by the same drug trafficking routes. The detection of SCs during a period marked by COVID-19-related restrictions can contribute to efforts to identify global drug market trends during this time.
View full article here.
Related Content
Piloting and evaluating drug checking services in Toronto, Ontario
The pilot for Toronto’s Drug Checking Service, which checked and publicly reported on more than 10,000 samples between October 10, 2019, and June 30, 2023, was coordinated by the CDPE. While Toronto’s Drug Checking Service now operates from its own unit within MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael’s Hospital, a site of Unity Health Toronto, the CDPE continues to work collaboratively with and conduct scientific research on the program.
View
Toronto's Drug Checking Service Website
Toronto's drug checking service has launched an interactive website! We will now publicly share regular information on Toronto’s unregulated drug supply, supporting more evidence-based harm reduction practices, policy, research, and care for people who use drugs.
View
Drug checking use and interest among people who inject drugs in Toronto, Canada
Drug checking services (DCS) provide information on drug composition to inform consumption practices and monitor unregulated drug markets. We sought to identify correlates of recent informal DCS use (e.g., fentanyl test strips) and willingness to use a formal DCS (co-located within a supervised consumption site and employing laboratory-based analyses) in Toronto, Canada prior to its implementation.
View
Diverse psychotropic substances detected in drug and drug administration equipment samples submitted to drug checking services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, October 2019–April 2020
This report presents early trends of samples analyzed within the first six months of drug checking service implementation in Toronto, Ontario. We sought to identify the prevalence of high-potency opioids in the unregulated drug supply and to identify noteworthy combinations thereof with stimulants, benzodiazepine-type drugs, and synthetic cannabinoids. We also present data on reported negative effects of samples (e.g., overdose).
View
Xylazine detected in unregulated opioids and drug administration equipment in Toronto, Canada: clinical and social implications
We report the first detection of the psychoactive veterinary compound xylazine in Toronto, the largest urban center in Canada, by the city’s drug checking service.
View
What’s in Toronto’s drug supply? Results from samples checked by Toronto’s drug checking service: January 1 – December 31, 2020
Between January 1 and December 31, 2020, 1657 samples were checked using mass spectrometry technologies (gas- and liquid-chromatography). This report details the results from the analysis of those samples.
View
Detection of Synthetic Cannabinoid Adulteration in the Unregulated Drug Supply in three Canadian Settings
The objective of this study was to characterise the presence of synthetic cannabinoids in the unregulated drug supply in three Canadian settings.
View
Evaluating Networked Drug Checking Services in Toronto, Ontario: Study Protocol and Rationale
As a harm reduction intervention available in Europe since the 1990s, DCS provide information on the composition of drugs to their clients in order to facilitate more informed drug-related decision-making and to increase the capacity of individuals to avoid ingesting unanticipated toxic substances, which can lead to overdose and death.
View
What’s in Toronto’s Drug Supply?
Results from samples checked by Toronto's drug checking service between October 10, 2019 - March 31, 2020.
View
Drug Checking Services for People Who Use Drugs: A Systematic Review
Given the growing availability of drug checking services and interest in their impacts, we conducted a systematic review to investigate the (a) influence of drug checking services on behaviour of people who use drugs, (b) monitoring of drug markets by drug checking services, and (c) outcomes related to models of drug checking services.
View