BACKGROUND: The rapid development of micro-solid phase extraction (μ-SPE) procedures with new sorption materials, in particular, based on using natural materials, is currently reported. The production of these sorbents and the entire extraction procedure should support the implementation of Green Analytical Chemistry (GAC) principles. Promising materials are sorbents based on paper, which can be relatively easily modified, among others: by covering it with a polymer membrane. In this work, the practical application of paper-supported polystyrene used in the analysis of urine samples containing selected date-rape drugs (DRD) substances, and evaluation of the entire procedure using GAC metrics is presented.
RESULTS: The paper-supported polystyrene membranes were successfully fabricated and characterized. The successful polystyrene coating on the paper was confirmed through ATR-FTIR measurements, ensuring even coverage. The μ-SPE procedure using this material facilitated extraction with a throughput of approximately 120 samples per hour in just a few steps. Throughout the research, a mixture of 100 mM acetic acid:methanol:acetonitrile (70:15:15, v/v/v) was selected as an optimal background electrolyte for capillary electrophoresis - mass spectrometry analysis. Validation results of this method demonstrated its suitability, exhibiting good linearity (R2 > 0.95), low limits of detection (3.1-15 ng mL-1), acceptable precision (<15 %), and recovery for all tested analytes. Furthermore, the greenness evaluation conducted with six different metrics: AGREEprep, AGREE, ComplexGAPI, SPMS, hexagonal metric, and WAC indicated the overall eco-friendliness and sustainability of the method, with minor concerns regarding energy consumption.
CONCLUSIONS: The use of cellulose paper with polystyrene membranes for μ-SPE provides a versatile and eco-friendly extraction method for detecting DRDs in urine samples. The presented work is an example of the use of GAC metrics in the evaluation of the analytical procedure. The optimized PT-μ-SPE/CE-MS method allows for minimized reagent usage and waste production. Moreover, the method proves to be sustainable and efficient for forensic toxicology analysis.

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BACKGROUND: Overdose deaths continue to reach new records in New York City and nationwide, largely driven by adulterants such as fentanyl and xylazine in the illicit drug supply. Unknowingly consuming adulterated substances dramatically increases risks of overdose and other health problems, especially when individuals consume multiple adulterants and are exposed to a combination of drugs they did not intend to take. Although test strips and more sophisticated devices enable people to check drugs for adulterants including fentanyl and xylazine prior to consumption and are often available free of charge, many people who use drugs decline to use them.
OBJECTIVE: We sought to better understand why people in the New York City area do or do not check drugs before use. We plan to use study findings to inform the development of technology-based interventions to encourage consistent drug checking.
METHODS: In summer 2023, team members who have experience working with people who use drugs conducted 22 semistructured qualitative interviews with a convenience sample of people who reported illicit drug use within the past 90 days. An interview guide examined participants\' knowledge of and experience with adulterants including fentanyl, xylazine, and benzodiazepines; using drug testing strips; and whether they had ever received harm reduction services. All interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for emerging themes.
RESULTS: Most participants lacked knowledge of adulterants, and only a few reported regularly checking drugs. Reasons for not checking included lacking convenient access to test supplies, or a place to check samples out of the public\'s view, as well as time considerations. Some participants also reported a strong belief that they were not at risk from fentanyl, xylazine, or other adulterants because they exclusively used cocaine or crack, or that they were confident the people they bought drugs from would not sell them adulterated substances. Those who did report testing their drugs described positive interactions with harm reduction agency staff.
CONCLUSIONS: New forms of outreach are needed not only to increase people\'s knowledge of adulterated substances and awareness of the increasing risks they pose but also to encourage people who use drugs to regularly check their substances prior to use. This includes new intervention messages that highlight the importance of drug checking in the context of a rapidly changing and volatile drug supply. This messaging can potentially help normalize drug checking as an easily enacted behavior that benefits public health. To increase effectiveness, messages can be developed with, and outreach can be conducted by, trusted community members including people who use drugs and, potentially, people who sell drugs. Pairing this messaging with access to no-cost drug-checking supplies and equipment may help address the ongoing spiral of increased overdose deaths nationwide.

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Illicit drug and alcohol abuse have significant negative consequences for individuals who inject drugs/use drugs (PWID/UDs), including decreased immune system function and increased viral pathogenesis. PWID/UDs are at high risk of contracting or transmitting viral illnesses such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV). In South Africa, a dangerous drug-taking method known as \"Bluetoothing\" has emerged among nyaope users, whereby the users of this drug, after injecting, withdraw blood from their veins and then reinject it into another user. Hence, the transmission of blood-borne viruses (BBVs) is exacerbated by this \"Bluetooth\" practice among nyaope users. Moreover, several substances of abuse promote HIV, HBV, and HCV replication. With a specific focus on the nyaope drug, viral replication, and transmission, we address the important influence of abused addictive substances and polysubstance use in this review.

BACKGROUND: Illicit drug and high-risk alcohol use among adolescents leads to poor health outcomes. We enrolled adolescents from urban slums in Kampala, Uganda, to assess baseline prevalence and factors associated with illicit drug and high-risk alcohol consumption.
METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study using data collected in a cohort that enrolled 14-19-year-old male and female participants from 25 March 2019 to 30 March 2020. Data was collected on social demographics, sexual behavior, and reproductive health using interviewer-administered questionnaires. The main outcomes were illicit drug use and high-risk alcohol use. Data on alcohol use was collected using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT); results were dichotomized. Factors associated with each outcome were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression.
RESULTS: We enrolled 490 participants (60.6% female) with a median age of 18 (IQR 17-18) years, 84.9% had less than secondary education, 48.4% had their sexual debut before 15 years, 47.1% reported paid sex in the past 3 months and 22.8% had a sexually transmitted infection (chlamydia, gonorrhea, and active syphilis) baseline characteristics associated with illicit drug use in the past 3 months were male gender (aOR 12.45; 95% CI 7.21-21.50) being married (aOR 2.26; 95%CI 1.03-4.94) 10 or more paying sexual partners (aOR 2.45; 95%CI 1.05-5.69) and high-risk alcohol use (aOR 3.94; 95%CI 2.10-7.40), baseline characteristics associated with high-risk alcohol use were male gender (aOR 0.29; 95% CI 0.13-0.63) emotional violence from sexual partners (aOR 2.35; 95%CI 1.32-418) illicit drug users com (aOR 3.94; 95% CI 2.10-7.40).
CONCLUSIONS: Illicit drug and high-risk alcohol use are prevalent among male adolescents and adolescents involved in high-risk sexual behavior living in the urban slums of Kampala.

UNASSIGNED: The primary aims of the current nationwide study were to establish the lifetime and 12-month prevalence of consumption of illicit drugs and its correlates in the general population of Singapore.
UNASSIGNED: A representative sample of 6509 Singapore residents (Singapore citizens and permanent residents) aged between 15 and 65 years were randomly selected for participation. Questionnaires were administered to assess the consumption of illicit drugs and collect information on correlates. All analyses were weighted to produce prevalence estimates for the consumption of drugs and other measured outcomes. Rao-Scott chi-square test and logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the association of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics with lifetime consumption of illicit drugs.
UNASSIGNED: The study was completed with a response rate of 73.2%. The lifetime prevalence of consuming illegal drugs was 2.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.9-2.8) (n=180). Compared to individuals aged 15-34, those aged 50-65 (odds ratio [OR] 0.3, 95% CI 0.2-0.7) had lower odds of lifetime drug consumption. Current smokers (OR 4.7, 95% CI 2.7-8.3) and ex-smokers (OR 5.9, 95% CI 3.2-11.1) had significantly higher odds of lifetime drug consumption than non-smokers. Individuals with hazardous alcohol use (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.7-6.5) had higher odds of lifetime drug consumption than those without hazardous alcohol use.
UNASSIGNED: This is the first nationwide study to examine the prevalence of illicit drug consumption in the general population of Singapore. The results highlight the need to increase awareness of drug consumption in Singapore, especially among parents, teachers, healthcare workers and others who work with young people.

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In recent years, reports of health problems associated with nitrous oxide consumption have significantly increased. In Germany, nitrous oxide (N2O) is easily available in cartridges without legal restrictions. The main reason for its popularity in the party scene are the euphoric, psychedelic effects of the gas. In addition to severe and sometimes irreversible health problems associated with long-term use of nitrous oxide, e.g., anemia and nerve damage, life-threatening or fatal consequences of acute nitrous oxide consumption can also occur: accidents under the influence of nitrous oxide, pneumothorax, pneumopericardium and shock due to an explosive increase in airway pressure when inhaled directly from the cartridge. But the most common cause of severe complications is asphyxia as the gas is usually inhaled pure from large balloons and without oxygen. The resulting hypoxia during use may be perpetuated by the diffusion hypoxia that occurs during the reoxygenation period. Nitrous oxide as a cause in accidental or intoxication events is usually not detectable but can only be identified as a trigger based on the patient\'s history or the circumstances. Acute medical treatment is symptomatic.
UNASSIGNED: In den letzten Jahren haben Berichte über lachgaskonsumassoziierte Gesundheitsstörungen erheblich zugenommen. Lachgas (N2O) ist in Deutschland problemlos legal und nahezu ubiquitär in Kartuschen erhältlich. Grund für die Beliebtheit in der Partyszene sind v. a. die euphorisierend-psychedelischen Effekte des Gases. Neben ernsthaften und manchmal irreversiblen gesundheitlichen Problemen bei Langzeitanwendung (Blutbild- und Nervenschädigungen) ereignen sich immer wieder auch akutmedizinisch bedeutsame, lebensbedrohliche oder tödliche Folgen des Lachgaskonsums: Unfälle unter Lachgaseinfluss, Pneumothorax, Pneumoperikard und Schock durch explosionsartige Druckerhöhung in den Atemwegen bei Inhalation direkt aus der Kartusche, aber v. a. hypoxische Komplikationen, da das Gas meist pur und ohne Sauerstoffbeimengung aus großen Ballons inhaliert wird. Die während der Anwendung auftretende Hypoxie kann zudem durch die in der Abflutungsphase auftretende Diffusionshypoxie perpetuiert werden. Lachgas als Ursache ist bei Unfällen oder Intoxikationsgeschahen meist nicht nachweisbar, sondern nur anamnestisch oder durch die Umstände als Auslöser zu identifizieren. Die akutmedizinische Therapie ist symptomatisch.

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