This report provides current information about the status of NPS benzodiazepine prevalence and positivity in the United States; it provides an overview, a summary of Center for Forensic Science Research and Education objectives, and information about novel benzodiazepines, opioids, stimulants and hallucinogens, and synthetic cannabinoids that have been identified from the second quarter of 2020 to the second quarter of 2023.
This brief, quarterly trend report summarizes the findings of the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education (CFSRE) at the Fredric Rieders Family Foundation regarding novel psychoactive substance (NPS) use in the U.S. The report provides a brief overview of current information, as of the second quarter of 2023 (Q2 2023) on the status of NPS benzodiazepines, opioids, stimulants and hallucinogens, and synthetic cannabinoids; and provides a listing of select NPS identifications and positivity rates from Q2 2020 to Q2 2023. Each type of NPS drug provides an overview of the substance as well as a brief discussion of the laboratory’s objectives, scope of analysis, and approaches for the analysis of drugs in biological samples and seized materials by using comprehensive non-targeted data acquisition by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography quadrupole of time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS).