1. DRUG CHECKING TUTORIAL
Padua, 25th September 2013

2. Definition
The term “Drug Checking” (DC) refers to an integrated service that basically enables drug users to have their drugs bought on the grey or black market (e.g., cocaine, ecstasy, GHB, or LSD) chemically analyzed as well as to receive advices and - if necessary - consultation and counseling.

3. Drug Checking in Europe
Médecins du Monde
At this moment seven European countries offer Drug Checking facilities, and generate around samples every year.

4. Different Drug Checking techniques
Different methods can be used, the most frequent are:
} Marquis test and other colorimetric tests
} Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC)
} High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
} Gas Chromatography (GS)
} Mass Spectrometry (MS)
} Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)

5. Duration Reliability Professional support Cost Mobile
Colour
Quick
(2-5 min.)
Weak
(qualitative) No
Low
Yes
TLC
Medium (30’)
Analyses in parallel are possible
Medium
Only for setting up
GC/MS
Slow
(30 min.)
High (quantitative)
High
Difficult
HPLC-MS
(5 -20 min.)
(quantitative)
Yes (HPLC)
NMR
Short
(3 min.)
Very High
Yes, an specialist
Expensive

6. The Trans European Drug Information project (TEDI) is a network of European fieldwork Drug Checking services that share their expertise and data within a European monitoring and information system. TEDI’s chief aim is to improve public health and intervention programs. Toward this goal, TEDI has developed a database system that collects, monitors and analyses the evolution of various European drug trends in recreational settings. The TEDI project operates within the European NEWIP project.
Definition
The objectives of the TEDI WP
The general objective of the TEDI WP is to improve the knowledge, the diffusion and the best practices of the all groups of drug checking. To be able to do this objective will be reached the next several specific objectives:
To develop a private electronic database with the relevant data of the groups
To standardize the drug checking protocols of each group
To detect new trends and subjective effects of new drugs
To develop a guide of counselling and synthetic drug trends reports
To develop a newsletter in order to diffuse on real time all the warning alerts and synthetic drug trends reports.
To diffuse the data in publishing scientific articles
To develop two training sessions with experts in drug checking and counselling, aiming to provide useful tools for the volunteers of field interventions.

7. Key Points of Thin Layer Chromatography
TLC is a technique that allows separation of the components of a mixture and (sometimes) identification.
It is a good compromise between basic methods like Colorimetric testing (Marquis reagent) and more complex and expensive techniques.
It is cheap and transportable, which makes it very suitable for low-resources projects.

8. 02 What do we want?
We want to gather useful information about the chemical composition of a drug.
The appearance or the effects of a material (drug) are not reliable indicators of its composition.
We may be interested about what is in a sample or what is not in a sample.

9. 02 What is chromatography?
Allows separation of components of a mixture.
There are many types of chromatography, depending on:
Stationary phase
Mobile phase
The various components of the mixtures travel at different speeds, causing them to separate.

10. 02 What is Thin Layer Chromatography?
Stationary phase: sheet of aluminium coated with some pourous material
Mobile phase: a solvent or combination of solvents (ex Methanol)

11. 02 What is TLC good at? Cheap Transportable Quick
Allows parallel analysis
No need for technical hardware (it can be easily done at home)
Fair specificity for common substances

12. 02 What is TLC not good at? Standards are needed for calibration
Has to be validated and complemented with more reliable techniques
Doesn’t allow precise quantification
Needs experienced staff
Not suitable for identification of uncommon or new psychoactive substances.

13. Key Points
TLC is a technique that allows separation of the components of a mixture and (sometimes) identification.
It is a good compromise between basic methods like Colorimetric testing (Marquis reagent) and more complex and expensive techniques.
It is cheap and transportable, which makes it very suitable for low-resources projects.