Dataset Information

Three years of wastewater surveillance for new psychoactive substances from 16 countries.

ABSTRACT: The proliferation of new psychoactive substances (NPS) over recent years has made their surveillance complex. The analysis of raw municipal influent wastewater can allow a broader insight into community consumption patterns of NPS. This study examines data from an international wastewater surveillance program that collected and analysed influent wastewater samples from up to 47 sites in 16 countries between 2019 and 2022. Influent wastewater samples were collected over the New Year period and analysed using validated liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry methods. Over the three years, a total of 18 NPS were found in at least one site. Synthetic cathinones were the most found class followed by phenethylamines and designer benzodiazepines. Furthermore, two ketamine analogues, one plant based NPS (mitragynine) and methiopropamine were also quantified across the three years. This work demonstrates that NPS are used across different continents and countries with the use of some more evident in particular regions. For example, mitragynine has highest mass loads in sites in the United States, while eutylone and 3-methylmethcathinone increased considerably in New Zealand and in several European countries, respectively. Moreover, 2F-deschloroketamine, an analogue of ketamine, has emerged more recently and could be quantified in several sites, including one in China, where it is considered as one of the drugs of most concern. Finally, some NPS were detected in specific regions during the initial sampling campaigns and spread to additional sites by the third campaign. Hence, wastewater surveillance can provide an insight into temporal and spatial trends of NPS use.

SUBMITTER: Bade R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10151418 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Three years of wastewater surveillance for new psychoactive substances from 16 countries.

Bade Richard R Rousis Nikolaos N Adhikari Sangeet S Baduel Christine C Bijlsma Lubertus L Bizani Erasmia E Boogaerts Tim T Burgard Daniel A DA Castiglioni Sara S Chappell Andrew A Covaci Adrian A Driver Erin M EM Sodre Fernando Fabriz FF Fatta-Kassinos Despo D Galani Aikaterini A Gerber Cobus C Gracia-Lor Emma E Gracia-Marín Elisa E Halden Rolf U RU Heath Ester E Hernandez Felix F Jaunay Emma E Lai Foon Yin FY Lee Heon-Jun HJ Laimou-Geraniou Maria M Oh Jeong-Eun JE Olafsdottir Kristin K Phung Kaitlyn K Castro Marco Pineda MP Psichoudaki Magda M Shao Xueting X Salgueiro-Gonzalez Noelia N Feitosa Rafael Silva RS Gomes Cezar Silvino CS Subedi Bikram B Löve Arndís Sue Ching ASC Thomaidis Nikolaos N Tran Diana D van Nuijs Alexander A Verovšek Taja T Wang Degao D White Jason M JM Yargeau Viviane V Zuccato Ettore E Mueller Jochen F JF

Water research X 20230406

The proliferation of new psychoactive substances (NPS) over recent years has made their surveillance complex. The analysis of raw municipal influent wastewater can allow a broader insight into community consumption patterns of NPS. This study examines data from an international wastewater surveillance program that collected and analysed influent wastewater samples from up to 47 sites in 16 countries between 2019 and 2022. Influent wastewater samples were collected over the New Year period and an ...[more]

PMID: 37143710

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Project description:Use of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) has posed a global threat to public health and the security of the population. As of December 2019, the NPS items identified in total have outnumbered by three to one the controlled substances listed in the 1961 and 1971 UN Drug Conventions. However, most of these NPS have not been scheduled by the United Nations because of their easy modification on the chemical structures to shun control. Currently, the scheduling and control of NPS is mostly at the national level and a rational scheduling of NPS by objective assessments is essential but often lacking. To rationally schedule NPS, the NPS misuse situation was firstly estimated with the Taiwanese Substance Misuse Monitoring and Reporting Systems (SMMRS) from 2006 through 2019. Then, the assessment of drug-related harms with an expert Delphi procedure for drug scheduling was performed. The epidemiological analysis revealed that among 37 substances commonly misused in Taiwan, heroin posed the highest risk, followed by (meth)amphetamine and ketamine. Of note, misuse of NPS, such as ketamine, synthetic cannabinoids (JWHs, AM-2201, XJR-11), synthetic cathinones (MDPV, bk-MDMA, 4 -MMCetc.), phenethylamines (PMMA, FMA, 2C-B, 2C-E etc.), piperazines (BZP, TFMPP) and tryptamines (5-MeO-DIPT) has been on the rise. Though perceived drug-related harms differed among experts with different professional backgrounds, the differences were not significant. Four dimensions of drug-related harms- addiction, misuse, social harm and physical harm- integrated from Nutt's model and scheduling criteria of Taiwan's Statute for the Prevention and Control of Illicit Drugs (SPCID), were further divided into 11 indicators and applied to assess harms of the 37 substances. Among the 11 indicators that corresponded to the four dimensions, 7 had significant prediction capabilities. Additionally, prevalence of misuse nationally was an important predictor of harm assessment. These indicators of harm assessment of drug misuse can help develop a proper scheduling system for the management of controlled/illicit drugs. In conclusions, drug scheduling is the first step toward proper management of drug use problems. Facing the threats of NPS, it is imperative to implement a rational and effective scheduling system for appropriate management. This study provides a mechanism to scrutinize, and improve, the current evaluation process for NPS scheduling.

Dataset Information

Three years of wastewater surveillance for new psychoactive substances from 16 countries.

Publications

Three years of wastewater surveillance for new psychoactive substances from 16 countries.

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