Drug Early Warning from Re-Testing Biological Samples

pre-trial or lock-up, parolees or probationers, and drug court participants. Similar methodology is promising for use in other venues, such as in trauma units and emergency departments, where biological samples are often collected from patients. Before the specimens are discarded, the project will re-test them for an expanded panel of drugs, including synthetic cannabinoids, to determine what old and new illicit drugs are detected or missed by conventional testing protocols, and how the drug patterns might vary by subpopulation and geography. By passing the expense of collecting the original specimens and re-using those that have already been tested with known results yields a relatively inexpensive and timely picture of emerging drugs in a given subpopulation and locality. ONDCP expects to continue to engage the laboratory testing services of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System (AFMES) at no charge to further minimize project costs.