Harm reduction journal
July 28, 2023
Théo Willeman, Nathan Grundig, Christine Pochon et al.
8 citations
Between February and September 2021, a study of 45 samples from 33 people who use 3-MMC in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France, found that the purity of the powder ranged from 21% to 98%. Most users were male (91%), median age 40, and regular users who bought the drug online via the Clear Web. Intravenous use was reported by 15.2% of participants. Other drugs, including 4-CEC, 4-MMC, and 2-FDCK, were also detected. Drug testing was requested by 86% of users, indicating a strong desire for harm reduction services. The data suggest that drug-checking programs can help this population.
Clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine
August 27, 2024
Théo Willeman, Justine Grunwald, Marc Manceau et al.
3 citations
Smartphone swabs can detect a range of recreational drugs and medications, offering a new, non-invasive tool for monitoring drug use. In a nightclub study in Grenoble, France, 122 drug users had their smartphones swabbed and analyzed. The three main drugs found were MDMA (83 phones), cocaine (59), and THC (51). Sensitivity ranged from 73% to 97.2% and specificity from 71.8% to 88.1% for these three drugs compared with self-reported use. Other substances detected included ketamine, amphetamine, LSD, methamphetamine, heroin, and several new psychoactive substances, as well as medications like antidepressants and painkillers. Different drug-use patterns emerged between techno and trance events. The method shows acceptable test performance and could complement existing drug testing for harm reduction and toxico-epidemiology.
British journal of clinical pharmacology
November 1, 2022
Bruno Revol, Maryse Lapeyre-Mestre, Nathalie Fouilhé Sam-Lai et al.
All four N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonists examined—dextromethorphan, ketamine, amantadine, and memantine—showed a statistically significant association with reports of drug abuse and dependence in the World Health Organization pharmacovigilance database (VigiBase®), which contains over 21 million case reports from more than 130 countries. The strongest signal was for dextromethorphan, followed by ketamine, with weaker but still significant signals for amantadine and memantine. This suggests a possible class effect for abuse potential among NMDAR antagonists. The authors call for further investigation and alert health professionals to this risk, especially given growing interest in these drugs as non-opioid pain treatments during the opioid epidemic.