Do you get what you see? The illicit doping market in Denmark-An analysis of performance and image enhancing drugs seized by the police over a 1-year period.

This study examines doping products seized by the police in three regional police districts in Denmark from December 2019 to December 2020. The products, often referred to as performance and image-enhancing drugs (PIEDs), are described in relation to the country of origin, manufacturing company, and the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) stated on the packaging versus the one identified by subsequent chemical analysis. The study also includes a description of the degree of professionalism by which the products appear according to EU requirements. A total of 764 products were seized during the study period. The products originate from 37 countries, mainly located in Asia (37%), Europe (23%), and North America (13%). One hundred ninety-three different manufacturing companies could be identified from the product packaging. The most frequent compound class was the androgenic anabolic steroids, found in 60% of the products. In 25%-34% of the products, either no or an incorrect API relative to the one stated on the product was found. However, only 7%-10% contain either no API or a compound from a different compound class than the one stated. Most products had a professional appearance fulfilling most EU requirements for packaging information. The study shows that many different companies supply PIEDs to the Danish market and that counterfeit and substandard products are widespread. Many products do, however, appear professional to the user giving an impression of a high-quality product. Although many products are substandard, they most often contain an API from the same compound class as the one labeled.

Purity of street-level cocaine across Denmark from 2006 to 2019: Analysis of seized cocaine.

Cocaine-related emergency department admissions are increasing, and cocaine seizures are at an all-time high in Europe. Our aim was to investigate the trends in purity and adulterants over time in cocaine available to cocaine users at street level in Denmark. We used a representative sample of cocaine seized at street level and analyzed by the national departments of forensic medicine between 2006 and 2019 (n = 1460). Latent profile analysis was used to classify the samples based on cocaine, levamisole, and phenacetin content. Low purity cocaine comprised most of the cocaine seizures in early years, but its share began to decline in 2013, and from 2016 to 2019, the high purity profile was dominant. While the total number of samples containing adulterants decreased, levamisole remained a common and dangerous adulterant. The findings underline the need to inform the public, medical doctors, and service providers for people with drug use disorders about the higher potency of street cocaine.

Development of a method using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for profiling of oil-based androgenic anabolic steroid products.

A GC-MS based analytical method was developed for the profiling of oil-based AAS products using 15 organic constituents as target compounds. A total of 219 compounds were identified in 109 seized AAS products, among them 15 target compounds were selected. The selection was based on each compound's occurrence, reproducibility, and variance between products. The 15 target compounds did not include the active steroid itself, but only compounds found in the carrier oil. The subsequent method validation included assessment of specificity, linearity, precision, robustness and sample stability. The method was finally applied for the classification of a set of 27 seizures of AAS products supplied by the police. The classification was based on the Pearson correlation coefficient using pre-treated peak area data from the 15 target compounds. A successful classification was obtained, with only a small overlap between linked and unlinked samples. A 1% false-positive rate could be obtained at a threshold of 0.625 in terms of the Pearson distance. The present study thus demonstrates that it is possible to profile and classify AAS products with regard to a common origin. As the profiling method is not specific with regards to the steroid content, it may potentially be used to profile and compare other kinds of oil-based liquids.

Changes in the composition of cannabis from 2000-2017 in Denmark: Analysis of confiscated samples of cannabis resin.

Globally, recent studies report increases in Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration in seized samples of cannabis for human consumption. This is important, because use of cannabis with a high concentration of THC has been linked to a number of adverse health outcomes. The objective of this study was to assess recent changes in the composition of seized cannabis resin in Denmark by (a) examining THC concentration in samples from Danish forensic laboratories from 2000 to 2017 (N = 430) and (b) examining cannabidiol (CBD) concentration and the THC:CBD concentration ratio in samples from the forensic laboratory in Western Denmark from 2008 to 2017 (N = 147). Cannabis resin samples were analyzed using a gas chromatographic analysis with flame ionization detection quantifying the total THC and CBD concentration. Results showed that the THC concentration increased 3-fold from 2000 (mean: 8.3%) to 2017 (mean: 25.3%). Significant increases occurred in all areas of Denmark. After 2011, we found a dramatic increase in cannabis resin samples with high THC concentration and the near disappearance of cannabis resin samples with medium- and low THC concentration. Furthermore, the THC:CBD concentration ratio increased significantly from 1.4 in 2008 to 4.4 in 2017. Whereas THC concentration increased, CBD concentration remained stable at ∼6%. In conclusion, the THC concentration of cannabis resin, and THC:CBD concentration ratio, have increased dramatically in Denmark, potentially leading to higher risk of harm to users. Policymakers, treatment professionals, and educators should be aware of this change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Stability of amphetamine impurity profiles during 12 months of storage.

Impurity profiling is a well described forensic tool that may be applied to gain information about the illegal drug market. However, it requires experience to assess the correlation between chemical profiles thereby separating linked from unlinked samples. One of the challenges in this context is that the chemical profiles may change over time, thus complicating an assessment if samples are stored under different conditions. In this study, the impact of different storage conditions on the stability of amphetamine impurity profiles was investigated. We examined the influence of storage time, temperature, sample purity, sample quantity and the presence of methanol on the amphetamine profile stability when stored for up to 12 months. We find that the target compounds in amphetamine impurity profiles are susceptible to all the examined storage conditions. Consequently, this unstable nature of amphetamine profiles may complicate the assessment when comparing amphetamine seizures that has been separated for longer time periods or stored under different conditions prior to seizure. Knowledge about the seizure history is rarely available to the forensic analyst. Therefore, sample stability issues should be taken into account when comparisons of chemical profiles are made.

Variation in chemical profiles within large seizures of cocaine bricks.

Cocaine is usually trafficked from South America throughout the world in packages of approximately one kilogram shaped as bricks and imprinted with a logo. Seizures consisting of multiple cocaine bricks gives the opportunity to examine the variation in the chemical profile within cocaine bricks assumed to originate from the same manufacturer and maybe even the same production batch. This knowledge may be important to the forensic investigator when chemical profiles from cocaine samples of unknown origin are compared. In the present study, the alkaloid and residual solvent profiles from three large cocaine seizures each containing identical cocaine bricks was examined. The three cases consisted of 36, 84 and 100 cocaine bricks, respectively. Each cocaine brick was profiled according to its cocaine alkaloid and residual solvent content using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and headspace GC-MS. The study showed that each of the three identical looking seizures consisted of up to four groups of cocaine bricks displaying the same cocaine alkaloid and residual solvent profile. The size of the groups varied from 2.4 to 63.3kg cocaine. The study also showed that the residual solvent profile within each of the three large seizures exhibited very little variation whereas the alkaloid profile varied considerably more. This finding suggest that the same organic solvent is used for the production of several batches of cocaine HCl. Therefore, the residual solvent profile may be a tool to link different production batches from the same manufacturer even though the alkaloid profile are different.

Cocaine classification using alkaloid and residual solvent profiling.

Many different groups of chemical compounds can be used in statistical impurity-profile comparison in order to establish links between different seizures of illicit drugs. For cocaine, some of these compounds descent directly from the coca leaf while others are remnants from the manufacturing process; and each of the compound groups exhibit different degrees of stability and discrimination power. Information obtained from the different groups can be handled in numerous ways and selecting the right method using a balanced combination of the compound groups is highly important in order to provide investigators and courtrooms with accurate conclusions. By using logistic regression or discriminant analysis (linear and quadratic), cocaine alkaloid and residual solvent distances can be combined in order to obtain probabilities for the two possibilities: linked or unlinked. We examined different data transformations and distance methods and ranked the different models using cross validation. Validation in an unrelated data set proved the consistency of the results. Data consisted of five large groups of linked samples exposed to different storage conditions during 12 months, 124 different cocaine sample seizures and 15 smaller groups of linked samples stored at room temperature for up to 15 months. The alkaloid and residual solvent impurity profiles of the samples were analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and headspace GC-MS, respectively. Residual solvent profiles exhibited considerable higher discrimination power than cocaine alkaloid profiles. Thus, a residual-solvent-weighted model (log10 transformation and cosine distance) was found superior at distinguishing correctly between linked and unlinked seizures compared to models using alkaloid distance alone. The model only gives weight to the residual solvents when the alkaloid profiles are very similar. This finding demonstrates the possibility to combine information from the highly stable, non-coca leaf-descent residual solvent profiles and the less stable cocaine alkaloid profiles for statistical comparative analysis of cocaine seizures in a simple and easy-to-implement way.

Stability of cocaine impurity profiles during 12 months of storage.

During the lifetime of a cocaine batch from production end to consumption, several alterations may occur, leading to possible changes in the original impurity profile. Such profile changes may eventually result in erroneous forensic evaluations. In the present study, the stability of both the alkaloid and the residual solvent impurity profiles of cocaine were evaluated over a period of 12 months under different storage conditions (temperature, purity and weight) using GC-MS and HS-GC-MS, respectively. The sample purity (p<0.001), time of storage (p<0.001) and storage temperature at 37°C (p<0.01) significantly influenced the alkaloid impurity profile. The most significant change was observed in low purity samples stored at 37°C. In contrast, no changes were observed in the residual solvent profile at all storage conditions for the entire 12-month study period. This finding indicates that the residual solvent profile may be more applicable than the corresponding alkaloid profile when cocaine seizures subjected to different storage conditions are compared. Our results clearly demonstrate that cocaine alkaloid profiles change over time and are most susceptible to sample purity and storage temperature. As a consequence, storage conditions and purity should be taken into account when cocaine comparison is conducted in criminal cases.

Sex hormone concentrations and gonad histology in brown trout (Salmo trutta) exposed to 17beta-estradiol and bisphenol A.

The impact of 17beta-estradiol (E2) and bisphenol A (BPA) on steroid hormone levels and gonad development in brown trout (Salmo trutta) was determined. Exposure took place from 0 to 63 days post-fertilisation (dpf) and gonad development was followed till 400 dpf. The onset of xenoestrogen metabolism was examined by measurements of whole body concentrations of bisphenol A (BPA) and its conjugation product bisphenol A glucuronic acid (BPAGA). Exposure to 500 ng E2/l led to an increase in E2 levels in the embryos and fry while 10 ng E2/l did not. Metabolic conversion of BPA to BPAGA began during the first weeks of embryonic development. Few consistent effects were found on the sex differentiation of the brown trout. Only one intersex fish (4.5%) was found among male fish at 400 dpf exposed to 500 ng E2/l. Females with male germ cells among the normally developing oocytes were observed in all groups (in up to 50% of the female fish, independently of exposure regime). The fact that exposure to 500 ng E2/l only caused subtle effects in a small number of individuals indicates that exposure during early life stages results in little to no induction of endocrine disruption in brown trout.

[Narcotics and illicit drug market. Status and 10-year development]. / Euforiserende stoffer og laegemidler i illegal handel. Status og udvikling over ti år.

INTRODUCTION: A description of the illicit drug market in Denmark's second largest city is provided based upon the prevalence of narcotics and illicitly sold medicals during the years 2002 and 2003. The changes on the illicit drug market are described by comparing the results to a similar study conducted ten years earlier. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study is comprised of 469 cases of seized material by Aarhus Police during the period January 1st 2002-December 31st 2003. Additional information relating to the 341 persons charged is also included in the study. RESULTS: Heroine, cocaine and amphetamine were seized in 31%, 30% and 28% of the cases, respectively, and comprise the most frequently encountered hard drugs on the market. The prevalence of cocaine in Aarhus Police District has increased more than tenfold during the past ten years. The purity of the three drugs decreased significantly during the same period, although large variations in the quality of drugs were observed. Medicals were found in 16% of the seizures (containing 32 different active substances). The most frequent group of medicals was benzodiazepines, which made up a total of 74% of the medicals in the study. Anabolic steroids, ecstasy and methamphetamine were each found in 4% of the seizures. Men with an average age of 29.1 years comprised 92% of the persons charged in the study. Persons with a foreign nationality comprised 15% of the charged, while 25% had a birthplace outside Denmark. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of stimulants especially cocaine have increased significantly during the past ten years. Meanwhile the purity of the drugs has decreased. The benzodiazepines are still the most frequent group of medicals on the illicit market.

Vitellogenin induction by 17beta-estradiol and 17alpha-ethinylestradiol in male zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Adult male zebrafish (Danio rerio) were exposed to 17beta-estradiol (E2) or 17alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2) in flow-through systems for 8 days. This was done to compare the sensitivity of the estrogen inducible vitellogenin (Vtg) biomarker system of this proposed OECD test guideline species to other relevant test species. Vtg was quantified in whole body homogenate by a species-specific ELISA. Actual water concentrations of E2 and EE2 were quantified by LC-MS, with detection limits of 1.0 and 0.6 ng/l, respectively. Vtg induction (LOEC) occurred in whole body homogenate at actual water concentrations of 21 ng E2/l and 3.0 ng EE2/l, respectively. As an alternative to the ANOVA approach, the relationship between the percentage of responding fish (Vtg) and the external E2 or EE2 concentration was determined by logistic regression analysis. Based on the regression analysis, EC-values could be determined: EC10, EC50 and EC90 were 15.4, 41.2 and 67.1 ng E2/l, respectively and 0.92, 2.51 and 4.09 ng EE2/l, respectively. Comparisons of these response limits to corresponding values for rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) and Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) revealed the zebrafish as a sensitive test species.