Adulterants: Lessons in History and Current Trends

Saturday, April 6, 2024

1:15 PM – 2:30 PM

Presenter(s)

Benjamin Swart, MD

Fellow Physician
University of Minnesota, Minnesota

Slides
JoAn Laes, MD, DFASAM

Addiction Medicine Physician, Medical Toxicologist
Allina Health, Minnesota
Daniel J. Sessions, MD, FACMT, FAAEM

Senior Lecturer
University of Queensland, Ochsner Clinical School, Louisiana

Non-presenting author(s)

Lewis S. Nelson, MD, MBA, FASAM

Chair
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, New Jersey

This interactive didactic session with expert addiction medicine and medical toxicology faculty will discuss clinically relevant adulterants and contaminants in the illicit drug supply. Topics covered will include epidemiologic and pharmacologic aspects of adulterant xenobiotics. Issues regarding clinical and laboratory identification of common adulterants and contaminants will be identified.

Learning Objectives:

Learners will be able to:

Describe the recent and historical trends in adulterants and contaminants including sulfonylureas, levamisole, local anesthetics, quinine, stimulants, opioids, brodifacoum, and alpha 2 agonists in the illicit drug supply.
Explain the pharmacology and toxicology of common adulterants and contaminants in illicit drugs.
Highlight current strategies for community-level recognition and mitigation of adulterants and contaminants in illicit drugs, including strategies for bedside clinical and laboratory identification.