Dr. Nicole Fitzgerald- New psychoactive substance use: Examining prevalence and correlates, typologies of use and risks for adverse effects.

Dr. Nae Yeon Won- Drug use in non-fatal motor vehicle crash injuries and its association with state policies in the US from 2019 to 2023.

Last month, we surveyed our NDEWS Sentinel Site Directors to see what they have been seeing in their area regarding recreational ketamine use. Responses were provided from the following sites: Atlanta, GA, Phoenix, AZ, New York City, NY, Denver, CO, Seattle, WA, San Francisco and San Diego, CA, St. Louis, MO, Florida, Kentucky, Texas, and The National Survivors Union. View the full report here.

What was found? 4-HO-MET has had a consistent increase in discussion since February 2024. The substance was previously reported by the web monitoring team in late March 2023. 
 
What is 4-HO-MET? 4-HO-MET, also known as metocin, is a tryptamine and psychedelic. The drug is a functional analog of psilocin. 
 
How is it being discussed? 4-HO-MET is often mentioned with other synthetic psychedelics such as other tryptamines and 2-CB. Commenters warn against taking the drug unsupervised; in some cases, the drug can lead to psychosis or other "trance-like" symptoms. 
 
Drug Terms: 4-HO-MET, Metocin, Methylcybin, 4HO, Colour 
 
Methodological Note: Data was collected and analyzed by the NDEWS Web Monitoring Team, led by Dr. Elan Barenholtz and NIDA T32 predoctoral fellow Daniel Van Zant of the Machine Perception and Cognitive Robotics (MPCR) Lab at Florida Atlantic University. Metrics are based on post counts derived from algorithmic monitoring of ~80 drug oriented Subreddits. No personally identifiable or post-specific information is incorporated in this monitoring process. Due to modifications in our data collection protocols, the NDEWS Web Monitoring Team is currently unable to collect data for substances that generate high volumes of posts (e.g. xylazine or psilocybin). This temporary restriction, which is anticipated to persist until early June, reflects recent revisions to Reddit's Terms of Service on data gathering. For more methodological details, see our publication.

People who have used drugs are invited to join Virtual HealthStreet to participate in periodic anonymous, special topic surveys specifically to get a better understanding of emerging drug trends across the US. Join here.

Earlier this week, NPS Discovery published a quarterly report in collaboration with the American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT), and the Toxicology Investigators Consortium (ToxIC). The report includes data from patients presenting to EDs within the ToxIC Drug Overdose Toxico-Surveillance (DOTS) Reporting Program experiencing a suspected opioid or simulant related overdose. The study includes 17 EDs from states across the west, central, and east regions of the US. Read the report here.

Last week, also in collaboration with ACMT and ToxIC, NPS Discovery published quarterly NPS reports for Q3 and Q4 of 2023. Results were published from 8 sites across the US. These reports provide new information regarding comprehensive drug testing of clinical toxicology specimens collected after suspected opioid overdoses in cities across the US. Read the Q3 report here and the Q4 report here.

Earlier this week, Toronto’s Drug Checking Service published a report showing an increase in the presence of nitazene opioids in opioid samples that are not expected to contain high-potency opioids. Between January 1 and March 8, 2024, isotonitazene/protonitazene, etonitazepyne, and or protonitazepyne were found in 4 of 8 expected oxycodone samples. Read the full report here.

Date: Thursday, March 28, 2024

Time: 2:30 p.m. ET

Register here.

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