Last month, one of our Weekly Briefing subscribers asked us if we had any information about 2FDCK (2-Fluorodeschloroketamine). In response, we surveyed our Sentinel Site Directors and asked them what they had heard about this substance in their respective areas. View their responses here.

This week's NDEWS Hotspot Alerts report includes 23 counties with higher-than-expected drug-related 911 dispatch counts over the previous 7-day period. Read more here. Click here to read more about NDEWS Hotspot Alerts.

A study recently published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence compared health risks among people who injected fentanyl to people who solely smoked fentanyl. Those who injected fentanyl were at higher risk for overdose and skin and soft tissue infections compared to people who only smoked fentanyl. The authors suggest that safe smoking supplies may help transition people from injecting to smoking fentanyl. Read the study here.

This week, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) placed nine specific fentanyl-related substances in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. These substances included meta-fluorofentanyl, meta-fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl, para-methoxyfuranyl fentanyl, 3-furanyl fentanyl, 2′,5′-dimethoxyfentanyl, isovaleryl fentanyl, ortho-fluorofuranyl fentanyl, alpha′-methyl butyryl fentanyl, para-methylcyclopropyl fentanyl. Read the final scheduling here.

The DEA also temporarily placed six synthetic cannabinoids in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. These substances included MDMB-4en-PINACA, 4F-MDMB-BUTICA, ADB-4en-PINACA, CUMYL-PEGACLONE, 5F-EDMB-PINACA, and MMB-FUBICA. This temporary scheduling order is effective December 12, 2023, until December 12, 2025. Read the temporary scheduling here.

The following report was sent in by an NDEWS subscriber. This report was published by the City & County of San Francisco and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), Forensic Laboratory Division, and provides prevalence data of novel synthetic opioids (NSO) and xylazine in 2022 accidental overdose deaths in the city and county of San Francisco. Read the report here.

Earlier this week, NIDA published a news release that described the latest results from the Monitoring the Future survey. The percentage of adolescents reporting they used any illicit substances in the past year continued to hold below pre-pandemic levels in 2023. However, other research highlighted in the news release has reported a dramatic increase in overdose deaths among teens between 2010 to 2021, which remained high well into 2022. These data suggest that while drug use is not becoming more common among young people, it is becoming more dangerous. Read the news release here.

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