Volker Auwärter

Medical Center - University of Freiburg

Although the use, structural variety, and prevalence of synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) have steadily increased on the drug market, they are rarely analyzed in abstinence control programs for driver's license regranting. The aim of this study was to determine the SC prevalence in these programs by analyzing hair samples collected between March 2020 an...

Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) is a cannabinoid that has been known since 1940 but has only recently found its way into recreational use as a psychoactive drug. HHC has been used as a legal alternative to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in many countries, but first countries already placed it under their narcotic substances law. Our aim was to evaluate a rel...

The chemical analysis of dental hard tissues can provide information on previous drug use due to the deposition of drugs into this tissue. For the interpretation of analytical results in, e.g., postmortem toxicology or regarding archeological samples, the influence of drug dosing, consumption frequency, duration of intake and type of drug on analyt...

1-(2,3-Dihydro-1H-inden-5-yl)-2-(piperidin-1-yl)pentan-1-one (3,4-Pr-PipVP), a novel synthetic cathinone (SCat), was first identified in 2022 in Germany. The product was marketed as 1-(bicyclo[4.2.0]octa-1,3,5-trien-3-yl)-2-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)pentan-1-one (3,4-EtPV), a substance not covered by the German New Psychoactive Substances Act (NpSG). Althou...

As a consequence of recently implemented legal restrictions on fentanyl analogs, a new generation of acylpiperazine opioids appeared on the illicit drug market. AP-238 was the latest opioid in this series to be notified by the European Early Warning System in 2020 and was involved in an increasing number of acute intoxications. AP-238 metabolism wa...

Preclinical investigations have shown that N-ethyl-N-isopropyllysergamide (EIPLA) exhibits lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)-like properties, which suggests that it might show psychoactive effects in humans. EIPLA is also an isomer of N6 -ethylnorlysergic acid N,N-diethylamide (ETH-LAD), a lysergamide known to produce psychedelic effects in humans t...

Purpose We report a case of a polydrug user who consumed various synthetic cannabinoids and fentanyl from a transdermal patch via a bucket bong. Toxicological results from postmortem matrices with special focus on synthetic cannabinoids are discussed in terms of their relevance to the death. Methods The samples were analyzed by toxicological scree...

Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs, "Spice") are a diverse group of recreational drugs, with their structural and pharmacological variability still evolving. Forensic toxicologists often rely on previous reports to assess their role in intoxication cases. This work provides detailed information on the "Spice"-related fatalities around M...

The use of non-prescribed opioid substitution drugs is a serious public health problem, involving general population as well as vulnerable populations such as prisoners. The estimation of the prevalence of opioid substitution drug misuse in prisoners is crucial to suggest strategies to contrast this phenomenon and reduce the associated morbidity an...

Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) are distributed on the drug market to produce THC‐like effects while evading routine drug testing and legislation. The cyclobutylmethyl (CBM) and norbornylmethyl (NBM) side chain specifically circumvented the German legislation and led to exploratory SCRAs being seen in 2019–2021. The NBM SCRAs were d...

The development of novel lysergamides continues to occur, based on both the needs of psychedelic medicine and commercial interest in new recreational substances. The present study continues the authors’ research on novel lysergamides and describes the analytical profile of 1‐cyclopropanoyl‐AL‐LAD (IUPAC name: 1‐(cyclopropanecarbonyl)‐N,N‐diethyl‐6‐...

Around 2017, with the appearance of 5F‐EDMB‐PINACA, synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) carrying an ethyl ester moiety at the linked group started spreading on the market of novel psychoactive substances (NPS). In 2020 and 2021, the indole analog of 5F‐EDMB‐PINACA (5F‐EDMB‐PICA) and the non‐fluorinated analog of this compound (EDMB‐PINACA) were analytical...

Synthetic cathinones comprise psychostimulants with desired effects like euphoria, increased vigilance, appetite suppression, and – mainly depending on certain structural features – entactogenic properties. 3,4-EtPV (1-(bicyclo[4.2.0]octa-1,3,5-trien-3-yl)-2-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)pentan-1-one) was first mentioned in an online drug forum in September 202...

Context New psychoactive substances (NPS) have become an ongoing threat to public health. To prevent the emergence and spread of NPS, a new German law, the ‘NpSG’ took effect in November 2016. This study presents an overview of analytically confirmed synthetic cannabinoid (SC) intoxications from January 2015 to December 2018. In order to demonstrat...

Aim The phenomenon of new psychoactive substances is constantly evolving, with arylalkylamines being one of the largest groups among them. 5-Methylmethiopropamine (5-MMPA, mephedrene), a derivative of methiopropamine (MPA), is available from online vendors selling “research chemicals” and was first seized by German authorities in 2020. No scientifi...

Aim Drugs and drug metabolites can be incorporated into hair in different ways. In addition to passive diffusion from blood and accumulation from sweat, sebum and surrounding tissues, substances can be incorporated into hair through external contamination. Still, little is known about the effects of external contamination of hair with amphetamine....

Aim Structural elucidation and analytical characterization of six newly emerged synthetic cannabimimetics (SCs) carrying a cyclobutyl methyl (CBM) or a norbornyl methyl (NBM) side chain were performed within the ADEBAR project. Pharmacological evaluation allowed for estimating in vivo cannabimimetic activities as required in many countries for the...

Objective The synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs, “Spice”) are a diverse group of recreational drugs, with their structural and pharmacological differences still evolving. Due to limited data on their pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in humans, the assessment of their role in fatal cases remains challenging. Forensic toxicologists...

Aim Arylcyclohexylamine analogs of phencyclidine (PCP) increasingly emerged on the novel psychoactive substance market over the last few years. Recently, 3-Me-PCP appeared on the market and, like many PCP analogs, is considered to be an equally or even more potent dissociative drug as compared to PCP. However, there is a significant lack of scienti...

Aim Among novel psychoactive substances (NPS), synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) represent one of the largest subgroups. Around 2017, with the appearance of 5F-EDMB-PINACA, the ethyl analog of 5F-MDMB-PINACA (5F-ADB), the first synthetic cannabinoid carrying an ethyl ester moiety at the linked group started to circulate on the market. The unambiguous de...

Aim The phenomenon of new psychoactive substances is constantly evolving, with novel synthetic opioids (NSO) representing a particular threat given their sometimes extremely high potencies and their potential to produce respiratory depression. As a consequence of recently implemented legal restrictions on fentanyl analogues, a new “legal” generatio...

Aim Hair analysis is commonly used to control abstinence or provide evidence for drug use or drug exposure. While dyeing and coloration of hair have been proven to potentially reduce drug concentrations in hair, relatively little is known about the reduction of drug concentrations after extensive use of ‘household remedies’. In this study, a male s...

Aim Since their first occurrence in 2008, a rapid increase of new psychoactive substances (NPS) on the recreational drug market has been observed. One class of NPS are synthetic opioids, which poses a health risk due to the high affinity and high potency of most of these compounds for the opioid receptors. Four opioid receptor subtypes are known, t...

Aim The ADEBAR project aims to comprehensively characterize emerging substances relevant for forensic toxicological casework providing collaborative structure elucidation and instrumental analysis services for forensic science institutes in and around Germany. The ADEBAR project addresses the need of the forensic science community for structural el...

In the past years, new psychoactive substances (NPS) started circulating in prisons, leading to health risks and challenges for the criminal justice system. Seizures of papers and cards impregnated with synthetic cannabinoid (SCs) have been reported. In November 2021, a letter suspected to be drug‐infused was sent from a German prison to this labor...

The poster highlights the core aspects, analytical workflow, and output of the ADEBAR project since 2017. Furthermore, trends detected through the continuous structure elucidation of new NPS in Germany are detailed.

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is known to induce powerful psychoactive effects in humans, which cemented its status as an important tool for clinical research. A range of analogues and derivatives has been investigated over the years, including those classified as new psychoactive substances. This study presents the characterization of the novel...

Novel substances for which none or limited analytical data are available constitute a challenge for police and customs forensic laboratories. The time‐consuming process of structural elucidation and acquisition of analytical data has been centralized in the ADEBAR project in Germany, co‐funded since 2017 by the EU's Internal Security Fund. The proj...

New chemical moieties continue to appear in synthetic cannabimimetics (SC), the largest group of new psychoactive substances in the EU. We describe the first comprehensive characterisation of the novel SC Cumyl‐TsINACA (N‐(2‐phenylpropan‐2‐yl)‐1‐tosyl‐1H‐indazole‐3‐carboxamide) from seized case samples. Structure elucidation was performed within th...

In 2009 new synthetic opioids appeared on the new psychoactive substances market. This class of new psychoactive substances generally poses a health risk due to the high affinity and potency of most of these compounds for the opioid receptors. It is known that overdoses can lead to respiratory depression and result in death. However, for many new s...

This study aimed at evaluating the extent of benzodiazepine (BZD) consumption among nursing home residents and examining additional mental health problems. Urine samples were collected in nursing homes in a border region between Austria and Germany and analyzed for BZD using a liquid chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometric method (LC–MS/MS). In a...

Synthetic cannabimimetics (SC) are a diverse group of new psychoactive substances with varying potency and harm potential. New SCs appear on the drug market every year, and reliable and correct identification of these new derivatives independent from the matrix relies on the availability of verified spectra. Three new synthetic cannabimimetics feat...

Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) remain one the most prevalent classes of new psychoactive substances (NPS) worldwide, and examples are generally poorly characterised at the time of first detection. We have synthesised a systematic library of amino acid-derived indole-, indazole-, and 7-azaindole-3-carboxamides related to recently...

Introduction: The analysis of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) represents a challenge in forensic toxicology, due to the high number of compounds characterized by different structures and physicochemical properties both among different subclasses and within a single subclass of NPS. The aim of the present work is the development and validation...

Synthetic cannabimimetics (SCs) are a broad group of new psychoactive substances (NPS) that make up approximately a quarter of all NPS on the European drug market, and new variants continue to emerge. As legislation in many countries evolves, the variety of SCs correspondingly grows, making SCs a persistent phenomenon that continues to be relevant....

Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) remain a prolific class of new psychoactive substances (NPS) and continue to expand rapidly. Despite the recent identification of hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBt) containing SCRAs in synthetic cannabis samples, there is currently no information regarding the pharmacological profile of these NPS with respec...

Purpose Designer benzodiazepines (DBZDs) increasingly emerged on the novel psychoactive substance (NPS) market in the last few years. They are usually sold as readily available alternatives to prescription benzodiazepines (BZDs) or added to counterfeit medicines. BZDs are generally considered relatively safe drugs due to the low risk of serious acu...

After their first emergence in 2009, Novel synthetic opioids (NSO) have become an emerging class of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) on the market for these new drugs. So far, 67 NSO have been reported to the Early Warning system of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). It is presumed that NSO mainly target the four...

Due to a mix-up an older couple (69 years and 71 years) ate a meal with herbs from their garden that contained leaves of monkshood (Aconitum napellus). The monkshood plants grew close to the herbs in their garden. Both patients developed the typical symptoms of aconitine poisoning with paresthesia, hypotension and bradycardia. Over the course of ti...

Non-mineralized dental biofilm (plaque) has potential as novel alternative matrix in forensic toxicology to prove drug use. The incorporation of illicit and medicinal drugs in dental plaque could take place through direct contact after oral or nasal intake, which can lead to high drug levels in the oral cavity, or indirectly via the secretion of dr...

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a potent psychoactive substance that has attracted great interest in clinical research. As the pharmacological exploration of LSD analogs continues to grow, some of those analogs have appeared on the street market. Given that LSD analogs are uncontrolled in many jurisdictions it is important that these analogs ca...

The present work is the last of a three‐part study investigating a panel of 30 systematically designed synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) including features such as the 4‐pentenyl tail and varying head groups including amides and esters of L‐valine (MMB, AB), L‐tert‐leucine (ADB), and L‐phenylalanine (APP), as well as adamantyl (A) and...

Rising numbers of psychoactive tryptamine derivatives have become available on the drug market over the last decade, making these naturally occurring or synthetically manufactured compounds highly relevant for forensic analysis. One of these compounds is 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT), a constituent of the dried poison of Incilius alv...

Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) represent a large group of new psychoactive substances (NPS), sustaining a high prevalence on the drug market since their first detection in 2008. Cumyl-CBMICA and Cumyl-CBMINACA, the first representatives of a new subclass of SCs characterized by a cyclobutyl methyl (CBM) moiety, were identified in July 2019 and Februa...

Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) are the second largest class of new psychoactive substances (NPS), and are associated with serious adverse effects and even death. Despite this, little pharmacological data are available for many of the most recent SCRAs. This study consists of three different parts, aiming to systematically evaluate...

Designer benzodiazepines are a rather new class of new psychoactive substances counting 26 compounds by the end of 2019. However, due to their high habit‐forming potential, the easy availability of these drugs in online shops is rather alarming. While the risk of acute health effects or intoxications after the sole consumption of benzodiazepines is...

Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) are one of the largest and most structurally diverse classes of new psychoactive substances (NPS). Despite this, pharmacological data are often lacking following the identification of a new SCRA in drug markets. In this first of a three part series, we describe the synthesis, analytical characterizati...

Zusammenfassung Während sich heutzutage in westlichen Ländern erweiterte Suizide ganz überwiegend in (gescheiterten) Partnerbeziehungen ereignen, stellen Kindstötungen mit nachfolgendem Suizid eines Elternteils ein seltenes Ereignis dar. Vorgestellt wird der ungewöhnliche Fall eines versuchten Homizid-Suizides einer 36-jährigen Frau, die durch das...

Background and aims: Injecting drug use is a matter of public health concern, associated with risks of overdoses, addiction and increased risk of bloodborne viral transmissions. Self-reported data on substances injected can be inaccurate or subject to bias or drug users might be oblivious to their injected substances or adulterations. Gathering of...

The synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist (SCRA) market is transnational and the availability of individual SCRAs changes regularly in response to national and international legislative controls. This generates a cyclic pattern and near constant evolution of SCRA compounds. This study reports toxicology‐based and/or seized sample‐based prevalence...

Während sich heutzutage in westlichen Ländern erweiterte Suizide ganz überwiegend in (gescheiterten) Partnerbeziehungen ereignen, stellen Kindstötungen mit nachfolgendem Suizid eines Elternteils ein seltenes Ereignis dar. Vorgestellt wird der ungewöhnliche Fall eines versuchten Homizid-Suizides einer 36-jährigen Frau, die durch das Einbringen eines...

Since the beginning of the phenomenon of new psychoactive substances (NPS), synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) have been the largest and most prevalent subclass of these drugs in Europe. Many countries implemented specific legislation scheduling classes of substances defined on the basis of their chemical structure to reduce supply. We...

Synthetic cannabinoids (SC) remain one of the largest groups of new psychoactive substances (NPS) on the European drug market. In December 2018, Cumyl-CH-MEGACLONE, a novel SC based on a γ-carboline-1-one core structure was firstly identified in Hungary, and later also other European countries. This work aims to reveal the pharmacological character...

Interpretation of amphetamine‐type stimulant (ATS) findings in urine samples can be challenging without chiral information. We present a sensitive enantioselective high performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC‐MS/MS) method for the quantification of (R)‐amphetamine, (S)‐amphetamine, (R)‐methamphetamine, (S)‐methamphetamine,...

Background Needle and syringe sharing among people who inject drugs (PWID) can result in a rapid regional spread of a Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) variant. Such outbreaks have been identified recently in several countries and have raised public health attention because of an association with New Psychoactive Substances (NPS). Methods Dried S...

Background Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) have become the largest group of new psychoactive substances monitored by the European Union Early Warning System. Despite the wide diffusion on the market, data regarding effects, toxicities, and mechanisms as well as toxic/lethal doses are still scarce.MethodsA comprehensive literature se...

1‐Propanoyl‐lysergic acid diethylamide (1P‐LSD) appeared as a non‐controlled alternative to LSD a few years ago. Although evidence is beginning to emerge from in vitro and animal studies that 1P‐LSD might serve as a prodrug for LSD, an equivalent evaluation in humans is unavailable. Controlled oral and intravenous self‐administrations of 100 μg 1P‐...

Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) have become established drugs of abuse. They play an increasing role in drug therapy, where abstinence control testing is required. Differentiation between recent drug uptake and uptake in the distant past is important for drug therapy. This study aimed at evaluating the detection window of a metabolite commonly used as...

Purpose Cumyl-PEGACLONE was the first synthetic cannabinoid (SC) with a γ-carbolinone core structure detected in forensic casework and, since then, it has dominated the German SC-market. Here the first four cases of death involving its fluorinated analog, 5F-Cumyl-PEGACLONE, a recently emerged γ-carbolinone derived SC, are reported. Methods Comple...

Background: Since 2016 an increase has been observed in the availability of new synthetic opioids (NSO) in Europe. Cyclopropylfentanyl is a very potent and selective μ-opioid agonist, which was reported for the first time in August 2017 in Europe. Methods: The case was included in a prospective observational study of patients treated in emergenc...

High doses of nutmeg (seeds from Myristica fragrans Houtt.) can be abused as a psychoactive drug due to phenylpropene ingredients. During controlled abstinence, e.g., in forensic psychiatric clinics, nutmeg abuse has to be distinguished from an ingestion of other spices having phenylpropene ingredients (e.g., black pepper or garden lovage) or unint...

In June 2018, a ‘research chemical’ labelled ‘AB‐FUB7AICA’ was purchased online and analytically identified as 5F‐AB‐P7AICA, the 7‐azaindole analog of 5F‐AB‐PINACA. Here we present data on structural characterization, suitable urinary consumption markers and preliminary pharmacokinetic data. Structure characterization was performed by nuclear magne...

1. Einleitung Aufgrund der nach BtMG § 10a Absatz 4 explizit ausgeschlossenen Substanzanalyse in Drogenkonsumräumen durch dort tätiges Personal („Drug Checking“) gibt es bisher praktisch keine Daten zu Art und genauer Zusammensetzung der in diesen Einrichtungen konsumierten Drogen. 2. Methode Die in Drogenkonsumräumen in Frankfurt, Hamburg und B...

Purpose Norflurazepam, also a metabolite of other prescription benzodiazepines, appeared on the new psychoactive substances (NPS) drug market recently, complicating the interpretation of NPS findings. The aims of the study were to tentatively identify potential metabolites of norflurazepam and structural analogues (flurazepam, fludiazepam and cinol...

Despite the increasing relevance of synthetic cannabinoids as one of the most important classes within “New Psychoactive Substances”, there is still a lack of knowledge concerning their metabolism in humans. Due to the extensive metabolism of synthetic cannabinoids, metabolites are necessarily the best target analytes in urine, posing additional ch...

Synthetic cannabinoids (SC) remain one of the largest groups of new psychoactive substances (NPS) on the European drug market. Although the number of new derivatives occurring on the market has dropped in the last two years, newly emerging NPS still represent a challenge for laboratories performing forensic drug analysis in biological matrices. The...

Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonizts (SCRAs), also known as synthetic cannabinoids, are mostly consumed in the form of herbal mixtures available in online shops. These herbal mixtures are produced by soaking dried, crushed plant material in a solution of SCRAs or by spraying the solution on the plant material. Inhomogeneity in the distribution o...

Objective Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) are commonly abused new psychoactive substances (NPS). The human body extensive metabolizes these SCRAs, to facilitate clearance and excretion. In certain cases, bio-activation of these compounds and/or generation of active metabolites has been reported, which might contribute to toxicologic...