Synthetic drugs are challenging testing labs

A problem being reported widely in America is also affecting law enforcement in the UK.  The rapid development of synthetic drugs is making it almost impossible to tackle drug abuse.  Before the police or courts can take action, proof is needed, but if laboratories cannot identify the drugs confiscated from dealers or within the blood system of users, there is no case to be heard.

Many synthetic drugs are extremely dangerous and recently some, such as Mortal Kombat, have been proved deadly.  Police forces in America, however, have admitted that they are finding it close to impossible to crack down on the growing problem of synthetic drug abuse.

For modern testing laboratories, testing for cannabis, cocaine, heroin and other narcotics is easy as all the drugs are derived from plants that do not change their chemical structure.  Synthetic drugs, however, are posing serious problems.  There are new chemicals appearing on the market all the time and this makes it almost impossible for laboratories to identify drugs via drug tests.  Many of the drugs, in fact, do not even carry a standard name.

Vince Figarelli from the Arizona Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory explained to ABC News how “good synthetic chemists can just change it slightly.”  Once a drug has been changed, even only slightly, it can become impossible for a laboratory to identify what the drug is.

Substance abuse testing is able to test most synthetic drugs to determine what they are by breaking the drugs down into the individual chemicals.  The problem, however, is not just in testing the pills themselves, but also in identifying their presence in the blood stream after an individual has ingested them.

Vince Figarelli explained that: “No lab in the state tests for the synthetic cannabinoids, and very few around the country.”  This means that when police seize a drug it is sometimes impossible to know what they have discovered.

Synthetic cannabinoids are synthetic compounds that are designed to activate cannabinoid receptors. The effect is a very similar experience to taking cannabis for the user, but the drug is not currently illegal.  There are around 85 different cannabinoids found within a cannabis plant and they produce a variety of effects.

Often, however, after a blood sample is taken from an individual, other drugs are found, and they will then be charged with using these.  This does raise an important question – should the police be charging drug users or should they focus on stopping the supply?

Testing for synthetic drugs is possible, but it is a timely and expensive process.  By the time scientists have broken down the drug and labelled it, they may not see it again for many months, and sometimes not at all.

Because the ingredients in the drugs keep changing, the people doing the testing are relying on lawmakers to constantly update rules on the ever-changing compounds.